Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword
by BritannianNight
Summary: My attempt at a novelization of Fire Emblem 7 from the tactician's point of view. The main pairing is Kent/FemTact/Eliwood.
1. Prologue: A Girl From the Plain

**A/N: This is just the beginning…I'm hoping to update soon, but my editor is taking a while to read my chapters. I should be able to update fairly quickly up to around chapter ten or twelve. Sorry about the dialogue that's taken directly from the game, but it should get better as I update.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING REMOTELY RELATED TO FIRE EMBLEM—WHICH MEANS I DON'T OWN HECTOR OR ELIWOOD OR IKE OR SOREN OR ZELGIUS T.T—BECAUSE IF I DID, IKE WOULD NEVER HAVE LEFT TELLIUS FOREVER, ZELGIUS NEVER WOULD HAVE DIED, AND THE TACTICIAN FROM THE BLAZING SWORD WOULD BE ABLE TO ROMANCE. I DON'T OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR SLIGHT ADDITIONS TO THE PLOT, AND MY TACTICIAN, SAIGE.**

_Once, dragons and men coexisted. They shared a peace forged in wisdom, a peace that lasted many generations. All that was lost when mankind disrupted this balance in a sudden onslaught. Man fought dragon in a savage war that shook the foundations of their world. This war was called The Scouring. Defeated and humbled, dragons vanished from the realm. In time, man rebuilt and spread his dominion across the land and on to the islands beyond. A millennium has passed since those dark days ended._

**Prologue—A Girl from the Plain**

"Are you awake? I found you unconscious on the plains."

My eyes fluttered open when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

Crouched down beside me was a young woman—no older than I, perhaps sixteen or seventeen? Her hair was long and a moss green color, and tied up in a ponytail. Her clothing was strange…it was weaved with colorful patterns along the neckline.

"Who are you?" All I could remember was heat, the sun, and hunger. The only clue to where I was was this woman—I would guess Sacae, which would explain the hunger and the heat—I must've been lost and run out of food.

"I am Lyn, of the Lorca tribe. You're safe now." So I had been correct when I had guessed that she was from Sacae. "Who are you? Can you remember your name?" Lyn proceeded to question me.

I paused, trying to recall my past, "My name's Saige."

"Your name is Saige?" she looked a little confused. I supposed it wasn't a very common name…I wondered if my parents were particularly fond of the herb sage. Or maybe one of them was a Sage? I didn't remember. "What an odd-sounding name... But pay me no mind. It is a good name."

I nodded, personally agreeing with her.

"I see by your attire that you are a traveler. What brings you to the Sacae Plains? Would you share your story with me?" I didn't remember anything about my past. I opened my mouth to say so, but there was a noise from outside. It was faint, like it was a loud sound, but it was far away.

"What was that noise? I'll go see what's happening. Saige, wait here for me." Lyn swiftly stood and left me behind.

Taking the time for myself, I glanced around the small hut. It was obviously nothing too terribly extravagant—strange that I'd notice that first…perhaps I'd been a noble or at least known one?

Throwing the blankets back, I swung my legs out of the bed. I recognized my green cape—which was draped over the edge of the bed—and quickly pulled it over my shoulders and clasped it. It was smooth and soft as silk, yet thick enough to be warm. The clasp was of jade—this piece of clothing was clearly not cheap. If I hadn't been a noble, or been good friends with one, then I had at least gotten a pretty good wage wherever and whoever I had worked for.

My long brown hair was drawn back in a loose ponytail—I reached back and pulled it out, letting it spill down my shoulders and back, the way I liked it. It was clean and untangled—how long had I been out? Lyn must've washed it. The hairband that Lyn had used to tie it back was evidently one of hers—it was crisscrossed with different Lorca patterns, done in beads on the stretchy fabric. I slipped it around my wrist, deciding to keep it for a souvenir of sorts.

I heard the pounding footsteps moments before Lyn rushed into the room. "Bandits!" she was breathless. "They must have come down from the Bern Mountains! They must be planning on raiding the local villages." She paused. "I... I have to stop them! If that's all of them, I think I can handle them on my own. You'll be safe in here, Saige."

She turned, but I caught her arm. "I want to help. I owe it to you, don't I? You saved my life."

"Can you use a weapon?" she asked. I wasn't quite sure where'd she'd get one—I didn't see anything in here except for her sword.

"Well…I can use a knife or a dagger, but I'm…" I struggled to remember what I was before. "I'm a strategist…by trade. I can direct you in a fight, but I'm no use with a sword, axe, or a lance."

"Ah…I see…" she glanced back towards the doorway as the bandits came closer. "…an odd profession, but…very well. We'll go together!" I snatched up my dagger—its hilt also had jade inlayed in it, and intricate silver patterns danced across the sheath—just in case, as I followed her outside, back into the blinding sun.

And so my journey began…

**A/N: I may just edit the first chapter myself and upload it tonight since this is so short…**


	2. Chapter 1: Taking Leave

**A/N: So I guess I stayed true to my promise. Once again, I apologize for all of the content that's word for word from the game, but the first few chapters are a sort of introduction to the real point of the story. I didn't include the fighting for the first chapters, since I know it'd get repetitive if I have a random fighting scene every chapter. I also skipped Lyn's story, since I wrote this part first, but I might add that in later as a sort of side book. Oh, and I switch points of view a couple of times, since I try to get as much of the story as possible, and some parts of the dialogue are when the tactician isn't around.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN FIRE EMBLEM.**

**Chapter 1—Taking Leave**

One Year Later...

_Once, dragon fought man in a war called the Scouring... Mankind vanquished the dragons thanks to the efforts of eight heroes. These eight mighty generals brought peace to Elibe. The continent was divided into nations, and the people enjoyed an easy prosperity. The hero Hartmut settled in the east and founded Bern, famed for its military might. St. Elimine moved west, and her sacred name flourished among the artisans of Etruria. The horseman Hanon's legacy lived on with the nomads of his beloved plains of Sacae. The birthplace of the knight Barigan is now home to the renowned Knights of Ilia. The berserker Durban's final glory was to create a warrior's clan in the Western Isles. The archsage Athos is said to have retired to the barren wasteland of Nabata. The heirs of the champion Roland themselves became the lords of the Lycian League. Elibe has enjoyed a peace that spans 980 years... How much longer can this peace stand before its foundations begin to crumble?_

_Deep within the Lycian League lies Pherae, a land that has known no conflict for many generations, but which now finds itself touched by a shadow of unease. Its beloved and benevolent ruler, Lord Elbert, has mysteriously vanished... as have a number of his sworn men, loyal knights who serve at his side. A month has passed without word from the Marquess. Rumors of his death abound. However, the Marquess's son believes his father lives, and he has vowed to find him. Marquess Pherae's son, Eliwood: A red-haired youth who will one day become the finest knight in all of Lycia. _

_~Lord Eliwood~_

"Well, Marcus, it looks like it's just the two of us." Eliwood said to the older, mounted man beside him.

"Not so, milord. My man Lowen will be traveling with us." Marcus replied, his eyes scanning the small village before them as if looking for the said companion.

"Lowen? That's reassuring."

"I've sent him ahead to the village. He hopes to seek out a few able men who are skilled at arms. Normally, I wouldn't venture forth without a larger company, but... I bow to your will on this matter, Lord Eliwood."

"I'm sorry; Marcus, but I would rather not deprive my mother of even a single guard. The best knights in the realm disappeared with my father. If anything were to happen to my mother while I am gone, I..." Eliwood trailed off, not even wanting to speak of what might happen.

"I understand, milord. Hmph! What's keeping Lowen!"

_~Saige~_

"Lord Eliwood! Co-Commander Marcus! I—" the young Cavalier who had introduced himself as Lowen cut himself off there, as he reined in before Lord Eliwood—who I could recognize by his fiery red hair—and another, older, man on horseback.

"Lowen! Calm yourself! A knight must be in control at all times." The old man—apparently Marcus—said, his voice stern.

"The village is under attack! It's bandits!"

"What? Bandits? Here!" Marcus seemed as shocked as I had been when I had heard the news, and looked over the village, though you couldn't actually see any of the fighting from here.

"Are you sure, Lowen?" Eliwood spoke for the first time.

"This girl has more details." Lowen moved his horse a little bit to the side as Rebecca came forward, flipping her green, braided hair back over her shoulder.

"My lord, Eliwood? I'm the daughter of the village Magistrate. My name's Rebecca. The bandits came without warning. They're stealing everything! I beg you! Please help us!" she pleaded.

"I see. Marcus! Lowen! We must aid the village!"

"Yes, milord!" Lowen readied his lance as Eliwood continued.

"Rebecca, stay here, and keep out of sight."

"If it pleases you, milord, I would rather fight. I hunt almost every day, and I have some skill with a bow." She did carry a bow with her—that would make the battle to come considerably easier.

"Is that so? Very well, but be careful!"

"Yes, milord."

"Lord Eliwood, one more thing. There is another in the village who has offered to help. A traveling tactician who was staying at the inn." Lowen said, gesturing for me to come forward from where I had been in the shadows.

"A tactician?" Eliwood seemed a tad confused. It wasn't often you came across a simple tactician in a small village such as this one.

"Yes, milord. This is Saige." I moved forward to stand in front of Eliwood, and swept into a bow before the young Lord.

"Saige!"

A small smile spread onto my face when he recognized me.

"Do you know this person, milord?" Lowen asked.

"Yes, I met Saige during the trouble in Caelin last year. A fantastic military advisor, if memory serves. If not for Saige, the Marquess of Caelin and his granddaughter, Lyn, might not have survived Lundgren's uprising. What brings you to Pherae, my friend?" he turned his attention back to me.

"I was hoping to become better in my trade, of course. I didn't like to leave Lyn behind like that in Caelin, but I needed to become a better tactician." I said, positively beaming at his praise of my talents.

"Ha! Still traveling about, honing your skills…of course... A worthy pursuit. Let's give thanks to providence for our chance reunion. We have need of your aid. Please lend us your skill."

I nodded. "Of course. I'll do everything I can to help."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The battle was over, thank the goddess. It was a good warm-up—I hadn't been in a real fight like that since the final battle against Lyn's granduncle Lundgren at the capital of Caelin. Bartre and Dorcas had joined us during the fight, and were now sitting a ways off. Eliwood and the Magistrate were speaking, so I remained silent.

"Ah, you would be Lord Eliwood, yes? Our deepest thanks for coming to the aid of our fair village." The Magistrate spoke first.

"Think nothing of it. It's a lord's duty to protect the citizenry." He was still the noble he was before, I could see. He was nothing like the other nobles I'd met, with a few exceptions that included Lyndis.

"Would that were true, milord." The Magistrate shook his head. "The good folk of Laus know no such protection. Their Marquess, Lord Darin, is too busy preparing for war. He ignores all complaints of bandits and thieves."

"Preparing for war? Are you sure?"

"I would not lie, milord. My brother lived in Laus until a few days ago. His home was torched, and he had no choice but to flee here. According to him, Laus could go to war any day now. It's all the people of Laus are talking about."

"Lord Eliwood, if this is true, the situation is a grave one. If Marquess Laus is readying for war... His target is most likely another Lycian territory. Perhaps this is connected to Lord Elbert's disappearance." Marcus had been watching the entire conversation just as I had, but now he spoke.

"My father and Marquess Laus? It seems a tenuous connection, but it's as good a start as any. Let us travel to Laus. We must learn more." Eliwood turned to me, "Thank you for your guidance, Saige. Where are you bound for next? If you have no destination in mind, perhaps you could travel with us. Ours is a small group, with a single purpose—to find my father. I do not know where our road will lead, but... We would be stronger with you in our company."

I was already nodding, "I will go with you, if you allow it. What better way to learn than actually be in a battle, directing you?"

"Splendid! Thank you! I pray we give you no cause to regret your decision."

I inclined my head, but I was also half-listening to the conversation that Rebecca was having with her father, the Magistrate.

"Father, I... I intend to accompany Lord Eliwood."

"Don't be ridiculous, girl! Lord Eliwood is not going on a picnic. They're riding into danger."

"I know that, Father. That's why I want to go. We owe him our lives, and I want to repay him. My bow may not be all that much, but I know I can be of service!" Indeed, she would be a great help to our group. Even with Dorcas and Bartre, our group was smaller than I was accustomed to. Lyn's had been almost thrice in size.

"But..."

"And, Father... I may meet up with my brother somewhere. You're the Magistrate—you have responsibilities. I... This is all I can offer. I need to do this! Please, Father! Let me go!" Rebecca beseeched.

"Dear me... You're just as stubborn as your mother was."

"I'm sorry, Father..." Rebecca looked at the ground.

"You must bow to Lord Eliwood's wishes on this matter. If he consents, you may go."

"Thank you, Father!" Her head instantly snapped back up, a grin spreading onto her face.

"Lord Elbert has always been kind of us. Follow his son with a true heart, Rebecca. Serve Lord Eliwood well, as I have served his father."

"I will, Father!"

I turned with a smile to greet her as she rushed over to us excitedly.

**A/N: I know, a cheesy sort of ending, but hopefully it'll get better.**


	3. Chapter 2: Birds of a Feather

**A/N: Firstly, I want to let you know—if you're a big fan of Serra, then I am not the author for you. Secondly, everything up to about…chapter 5 is going to be part of the prelude (of sorts).**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FIRE EMBLEM.**

Chapter 2—Birds of a Feather

_After speaking with the village Magistrate, Eliwood and company set their sights on Laus. The road from Pherae to Laus passes through Santaruz. Eliwood suspects his missing father must have visited Santaruz en route to Ostia. Eliwood arranges a meeting with the local ruling lord to see what he can learn._

_~Santaruz Castle~_

"What? Eliwood is here?" Lord Helman asked, looking startled.

"Yes, He has set camp up on a hill south of here. He seeks permission to enter Santaruz. He seeks an audience with you." The hooded man beside him replied.

"Could it be...Do you think Eliwood's come to ask of his father? If that's the case... I... I know not what to tell him."

"Tell him you know nothing, and let him be on his way."

"Yet... I know young Eliwood well. His father, Elbert, and I are old friends. I've no children of my own, and I've always treasured Eliwood. I do not believe I could look him in the eye and...I could not lie to him. I could not."

"We've no choice then. Let us chase the boy away. If you do not speak with him, you need tell no lies."

"Wait! Do you mean to harm Eliwood?"

"Not harm. Frighten. A scratch or two will leave no scars. He will run home to Pherae and be done with his adventure. He is, after all, all that Pherae has left..."

_~Saige~_

"Instead of entering Laus with such a small group, we should meet with Marquess Santaruz and request his assistance... I see the sense in that. It's a good plan, Saige." Marcus seemed to agree with me.

"Truly so. I tell you again, I'm pleased to have you with us." Eliwood said to me, "Lord

Helman... He's not only my father's friend. I've known him since I was a child. I'm sure that he will help us—"

"Lord Eliwood! Beware!" Marcus spurred his horse to quickly move in front of Eliwood and I.

A rather sinister-looking man had appeared before us on the road, "Heh heh heh... Noble sires, Alms for a poor villager?"

Marcus voiced what I had been thinking, "Poor villager? You look nothing like an honest man. Clear the road. Step quickly or..."

"Step quickly? Heh heh... Good advice. Maybe it's you who should follow it!" so much for the 'poor villager' act.

"What?"

"Someone wants the boy in an early grave. A shame if you ask me, but he'll die here today. C'mon, boys! Earn your keep!" That was when more of them emerged from the trees on either side of us.

"Ambush!" I hissed.

"Stay close to me, Saige! We can't afford to lose you." Eliwood grasped my arm and pulled me closer as he drew his rapier.

On the other side of me was Dorcas, "Here we go again, eh, Saige? Just like old times... Seems our fates are bound. Natalie's still in Pherae. I'm working or you this time, so she's not too worried. Guide my axe, Saige."

I nodded, quickly taking back to the role.

"Marcus, Dorcas, move forward! Rebecca, help them from back here, and Bartre, warn the villagers!" I pointed with the last statement to the few houses that were a little off to our left, through a thin group of trees.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

I wiped the blood from my dagger with a small cloth—it was already covered in bloodstains. One of the sellswords had circled around behind us and attacked me while Eliwood's attentions were turned elsewhere. I had killed him with a quick, almost crazed strike with my knife—I wasn't used to being in dangerous situations where I could be potentially killed—but not before he had inflicted a small gash upon my arm with his sword. If I hadn't moved out of the way in time, however, it would've been much worse—perhaps even fatal.

But such was the way of war. Or a small battle, in this case.

"Whew... Is that all of them?" I didn't recognize the speaker, but Eliwood evidently did.

"Hector! Where did you come from?" he seemed surprised—so this couldn't have been a planned meeting.

"Well met, Eliwood."

"Yes, but... what are you doing here?"

"You wound me!"

"How do you mean?"

"You're looking for your father, right? Why didn't you send word?"

"Your brother was just named Marquess Ostia. He's going to be very busy setting up his court council. Lord Uther must need your support. You are his brother, after all." The brother of Lord Uther? Another noble…was this becoming normal for me? To meet people of great importance on a day to day basis?

"My brother is not so weak. Oh, he has mentioned some things in public, but... He knew exactly what I was planning, and he let me go."

"Is that so? Well then, it would be unwise to refuse his kindness!" Eliwood's voice lowered a bit. "It does me good to see you, Hector. Thank you."

"Think nothing of it. You know Oswin, don't you?" he gestured vaguely to the man beside him—who was covered in plate mail and carried a very heavy-looking lance.

"Well met, Lord Eliwood." Oswin seemed to know Eliwood, at least.

"It is good to see you again, Oswin. So you came as well?" Eliwood seemed genuinely glad to see the knight.

"Yes. Lord Uther was worried about Lord Hector traveling alone. I've been ordered to keep a close eye on him." I didn't see why anyone would be worried. He was well-built and seemed to know how to use the axe he carried—it was massive, I probably wouldn't be able to pick it up with two hands, let alone swing it like he had been.

"Ha ha ha! Of course! Good to have you with us."

"Lord Hector! Why didn't you tell me the fighting was done!" I recognized Serra by her high-pitched, annoying voice long before I saw her. Her pink hair was done up in two pigtails as always, and she carried her heal staff.

"I apologize for the interruption. I couldn't restrain her any longer!" Matthew—the thief, who was also a spy for Ostia (information I'd managed to wring out of him back when we were under Lyn's command) which would explain why he'd be with Lord Hector—came soon after Serra.

"Are these your companions, Hector?" Eliwood asked.

"Oh... Yes, I suppose they are. One might have hoped for better, but..." I hid a smile at his reply.

"That was uncalled for! I can't believe you said that! Matthew, did you hear what he said about you?" Serra exclaimed.

"Me? He was talking about you!"

"Hector, why don't you introduce us?" Eliwood said.

"The noisy one is Serra. Believe it or not, she's a cleric." A lousy one at that.

"Yes, I am Serra, my lord. Pleased to meet you."

"And that's Matthew. He does a lot of... sneaking around." Indeed. That would be one way to put it.

"My lord." Was all that Matthew said.

"Sneaking... around." Eliwood seemed hesitant about the concept.

"Well... I, err... gather information, open doors, chests, and such." Matthew tried to salvage the situation. "I've got... nimble fingers."

"That sounds... like a thief's work..."

"Well... Don't let it worry you." I was beginning to like Lord Hector. He thought like…like me, I supposed.

"But..." Eliwood still was uncertain.

"This journey... I suspect it will be harder than you imagine. You may have to accept things like this if you want to survive." My point exactly.

"What is it, Hector? Do you know something?"

"Nothing specific. Rumors abound, though. A league of assassins from Bern has been moving around in Lycia. Experienced bounty hunters and mercenaries are vanishing..." that didn't sound good.

"That reminds me. One of the men who attacked us said something odd." Eliwood said.

"What was it?"

"Lord Eliwood, if I may?" Marcus had dismounted and was now headed in our direction.

"Marcus! Good to see you!"

"Lord Hector, it's been far too long. Your assistance is greatly appreciated." It was nice to have the mercenaries' numbers thinned out a bit. It made my job quite a lot easier.

"Come now, Marcus. No need for such formalities. Tell me what you heard." Hector didn't seem to stand on much of these "formalities." It was almost…refreshing, from some of the nobles I'd encountered not long after we had retaken Caelin.

"Of course. The apparent leader of that gang of thugs... He indicated that someone was watching Lord Eliwood... That someone needed him dead." Marcus continued.

"Hmm... That is troubling. Actually, a captain of the guard was watching the fight when we arrived. He was a knight of Santaruz, and yet he just stood there and let a lord be attacked. I think he was planning on seeing you die."

Eliwood turned to me, "So, Saige. What do you think?"

I paused a moment, surprised. I hadn't been expecting to be invited into the conversation, "Perhaps…Something might have happened to Lord Helman."

"...You might be right. Come! We must hurry to the castle!"

Eliwood turned to ready everyone else, but Hector caught his arm, gaze turning to me.

"Eliwood! Who is this? You didn't mention her."

"This is Saige. I required tactical aid in the search for my father, and..."

"Oh, I see. So this is who directed the battle plan back there, hm? You know, Saige, you're very young. We've many strategists in Ostia, but none so young. Eliwood, are you sure about this one?"

My eyebrows rose. Really? I supposed he wouldn't know that I'd been behind Lyn a year prior.

"Saige is still a student of military strategy, but... We've received nothing but sound advice so far. Saige has my trust." A small smile touched my face again.

"I am honored, milord." I said quietly.

"All right. I suppose I shall witness your skills firsthand. Well met, Saige."

I dipped my head in respect, as Matthew and Serra came forward again. Matthew spoke first, "Hello! How have you been, Saige?"

"I've been well, thank you. But your secret's been revealed…"

"Oh, that." Matthew shook his head as though it didn't matter. "Regardless, it looks like we'll be traveling together again. Here's to our mutual survival!"

I flinched as Serra's screech assailed my ears. "Eeeeeeee! Saige! Is it really you? It's been far, far too long! You missed me, didn't you?" No, not really. Before I could reply, she continued. "Of course you did. I knew it."

"What're you doing travelling with Lord Hector?" I asked as I raised a hand to my ear. I wondered if she'd destroyed my eardrum.

"Hm? Didn't I tell you before? I'm in the employ of Ostia, Lycia's ruling territory. I'll be here to help you just like before! Aren't you lucky?"

I sighed and shook my head as she bounced off after everyone else, who were already ready.

Replacing the dagger on my belt and my bloody cloth in my satchel, I swept my cape around me and walked quickly—trying to catch up with Eliwood.

I could tell I was in for another long journey.

**A/N: Please, please, **_**please**_** tell me if I write someone horribly out of character. It's one of my pet peeves and I hate it when I re-read a piece of my fanfiction later and find this.**


	4. Chapter 3: In Search of Truth

**A/N: To MilleniaMaster: thank you so much for the review :) **

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FIRE EMBLEM.**

Chapter 3—In Search of Truth

_Eliwood enters Santaruz, only to be attacked by a strange group. In a desperate moment, he is rescued by a childhood friend, Marquess Ostia's younger brother, Hector. The assailant's leader reveals that an unknown party seeks Eliwood's head... Eliwood cannot help but think this is related to his father's disappearance. In search of more traces of his father's footsteps, Eliwood sets out for the castle of Lord Helman, the Marquess of Santaruz._

_~Santaruz Castle~_

"Master Ephidel! What is the meaning of this?"

"Peace, Lord Helman. Whatever is wrong?"

"You said you were just going to frighten Eliwood! Your men almost killed him! My patience is at an end! I've decided I must tell Eliwood everything and apologize.

"...You would betray us?"

"I am tired of you and the Black Fang! Now, remove yourself from my castle! Your

presence pains me!"

"Lord Helman... Is there nothing I can do to change your mind?"

"Nothing!"

"In that case...you're no longer of any use."

"What!" a knife flashed out from underneath Ephidel's cloak, embedding itself in Helman's stomach. "Gaa... urrgh..."

_~Saige~_

"There's the castle, Eliwood!" Hector said.

"We have to speak with Lord Helman..." Eliwood trailed off, looking up at the castle.

"That's not gonna happen, laddie!" an armored guard approached us, flanked by horsemen—whether they be Nomads or Cavaliers, I couldn't tell from this distance.

"More mercenaries?" I asked no one in particular.

"Who are you?" Eliwood asked.

"Who am I? Ah, boy, you'd do better to worry about yourself. You'll be worm's meat before much longer."

"You think so? I think my axe'll change your mind." Hector hefted Wolf Beil.

"Ha! The cub thinks he's a wolf! Does your bite match your bark? Tell you what: if you make it to the castle alive, we'll find out, eh? Geh heh heh hehhh!" he pulled back with his guard to the gate.

Before we could follow, the rest of his men filled in, to block our way.

Lowen directed his horse up next to Eliwood, Hector and I. However, I was surprised when he addressed me, "Nice to be working with you, Saige! As a journeyman knight of Pherae, I'm here to serve Lord Eliwood and you, Saige! I await your command!"

I nodded, and then turned to face Hector. "Lord Hector, when we form an opening, go after their leader."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Lord Helman!" I had followed Hector and Eliwood as they rushed inside once the battle had been won, Eliwood had quickly found Lord Helman, and was now kneeling down beside him where he lay on the floor. It seemed that he had somehow sustained a bad wound in his stomach.

"... Is that you...? Eliwood?" Helman's voice was weak.

"Hold on, my lord!" Eliwood gripped the Lord's arm, and cast a glance at me. "Saige, go get Serra or one of Lord Helman's healers!"

Instead of obeying his order, I slowly walked over to where Helman lay, and kneeled as well. I eyed his wound, and the amount of blood on the floor, then set a hand on Eliwood's shoulder. "It's too late…he's lost too much blood. They'd never make it in time."

Helman seemed to accept this, "I... I must apologize... Your father... He..."

"Do you know something, sir?" rather than shaking my hand off, scolding me for disobeying orders, and sending me away, he let me stay.

"I... If I hadn't told Elbert...about...Darin's plans...This would...never...have..." he broke into a coughing fit.

"Lord Helman!" Eliwood's grip tightened on Helman's arm until his knuckles were white.

"...Go to Laus...Darin...the Marquess of Laus...knows all." Helman gasped out.

"Marquess Laus?" Eliwood sounded puzzled by this.

"I'm sorry, Eliwood...I...I can't..." the lord breathed, eyes half-lidded.

"Hold on!"

"Beware...the Black...Fang..." The Black Fang? Wasn't that the name of the group that had been chasing after Ninian and Nils a year ago?

"Lord Helman!"

"He's gone..." Hector finally spoke, his voice unusually quiet.

"It can't be..." Eliwood pulled back from Helman's body, his hands soaked with blood. He moved to wipe them on the edge of his cape, but I quickly snatched mine up and grabbed his wrist to stop him.

"Here," I thrust the green material forward, "use mine." (A/N: lol…she's gonna be all Christmassy now!)

He reluctantly took the edge from me, using it to mop as much blood off of his hands as possible. I winced at the crimson stains that it left behind. Why did I offer my cape to him? He would've been perfectly content to use his own...Perhaps I... Eliwood spoke again, "Lord Helman...Why...Why did this happen?"

"Blast! What is going on?" Hector's sudden outburst made me jump, jostling Eliwood's hands.

"…We go to Laus. We must speak to the Marquess of Laus, Lord Darin."

"You're right. We should leave quickly. I'm not sure how far we can go today, but... I can't sit still."

"Pardon me..." my head swiveled back around to look at the doorway, where a young man was poking his head inside of the room.

"Hm?"

"If I may?"

"Who are you?" Eliwood asked, dropping my cape.

"I'm the steward of Santaruz. With our lord gone, what are we to do?" the steward stepped inside the room, closing the door behind him.

"First, you give Lord Helman a proper burial. After that... I'm sure the Lycian Council will have to meet. Stay here and defend the castle until you hear more." Hector told the young steward.

"I understand."

"Let's go. We must keep moving." Eliwood slowly reached up and closed Helman's eyes, before standing.

"Yes... and now we seek answers for Marquess Santaruz, too." As Hector spoke, I gathered my now blood-stained, precious cape about me and stood, gazing down at the body of the Marquess.

"... Lord Helman... May you find peace."


	5. Chapter 4: False Friends

**A/N: This is the combination of the side quest and the actual chapter from the game, so it'll be a little longer than the others.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FIRE EMBLEM.**

Chapter 4—False Friends

_ The dying words of Lord Helman stun Eliwood beyond belief. "Darin, the Marquess of Laus, knows all..." Despite the pain it brings, Eliwood takes this newfound knowledge to heart and sets out for Laus once again. On the way to Laus, he travels through a Caelin village. Eliwood and his party decide to rest there for a night._

"Bah! Dark already." Hector said.

"We'll have to stop here for the night. We'll set out for Laus at the first sign of sunlight."

Eliwood spoke to all of us, and then Marcus, "Marcus, prepare the camp."

"Yes, my lord." Marcus inclined his head respectfully before heading off and tethering his horse to a nearby tree.

"So this is Caelin? You think we ought to present ourselves to Lord Hausen?" Hector asked.

"We're simply passing through, so I don't see the need. I am curious how Lyndis is getting along, though."

"Lyndis?"

I spoke before Eliwood could, eager to talk once more of Lady Lyndis, "Marquess Caelin's granddaughter."

"Oh, her. The missing heir who dealt with Lundgren last year. Didn't you have something to do with that?" he addressed the last part to Eliwood.

"Mm."

"And? The granddaughter? Is she a beauty?"

"A beauty? She's... I don't... she's... I think it must be her Sacae heritage. She's... striking..." I hid a smile behind my hand at how he was stumbling over his words about Lyndis—Striking? Quite the word choice, but I agreed. She was striking, I supposed.

"Striking? Too bad, isn't it?"

"What?"

"That we don't have time to see her, loverboy."

"No! Lyndis and I are...We're not..."

"You're not? Then why are you getting so worked up?"

"Hector! Don't make me angry!"

"Ha ha ha ha! You are so much fun to tease!" I finally broke out in a short peal of laughter, which I quickly cut off as I clapped my hand over my mouth, realizing my mistake. They both turned to look at me—Eliwood looking infuriated and Hector looking surprised.

"I apologize, Lord Eliwood, Lord Hector. It was not my place…"

Hector waved his hand, seeming to dismiss it. "It's fine—" he broke off as there was a loud, high pitched sound from outside. "Huh? What was that? Did you hear something?"

"It was a scream. Someone's being attacked!"

"Do we help?" Hector asked with a glance at Eliwood.

"Of course!"

Outside, there was an older-looking man. He was being chased by two bandits.

"Not exactly the damsel in distress that I was expecting…" I commented. No one replied to my attempt at humor, though Hector cast me a quick glance—straight-faced, I might add, but his smile was conveyed in his deep blue eyes.

"Oh noooooo! Someone! Help!" he screamed, still sounding like a girl.

"Grrr! Stupid old fool! He's kept us running in circles for hours!" one of the bandits growled out.

"My... My valuable merchandise! What are you going to do?" the older man had been caught, and was now cowering between the two.

"Hey, look at this. The old fool's wealthy." The second bandit observed.

"Huh huh huh. Our lucky day. Eh, Puzon?"

"Let go! Let go! Will you let go!" the man struggled to get free.

"What a racket! Puzon, can we get rid of this simpleton?"

"I suppose so. There's no reason to let him live." The second bandit—apparently Puzon, said as he raised his axe.

"Oh my! Eeeyaaaaahhh!" once again his screech assailed my ears.

"Release him!" Eliwood called out, with authority.

"Who—" Puzon looked up, axe lowering a fraction.

"I told you to let the man go!"

"If you move quickly, we'll let you live." I hoped I'd never be an enemy of Hector, because he would get me to surrender in an instant.

"Ha! Pair of dandies like you? You know what I think? Living off your parent's names, prancing about... I despise you! Come on! Don't hold back! We'll kill you!" Puzon released the older man and raised his axe. However, the bandit clearly wasn't expecting for him to come dashing over to me, because that's exactly what happened.

"Aaaiiieeee! You! They call you Saige, am I right? I am Merlinus, a humble and lowly merchant. I know nothing of combat. Please! You must protect me!" I was surprised he knew my name—not many did.

"No need to worry…err…Merlinus. Lord Eliwood and Lord Hector have it under control."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

That had been, perhaps, one of the shortest battles I'd ever been in. We had routed Puzon and the rest of his cronies—who had all showed up after he decided to kill us—with little effort. Part of me wondered if it was I who had become better in the ways of strategy—even in the short time that I'd been with Eliwood—or if we as a group had become stronger. It was probably a combination of both.

I glanced over to Merlinus, who was looking a little green from all of the blood and gore.

"Are you all right?" Eliwood spoke to Merlinus.

"Hm? Oho! I... I've been saved!"

"Are you injured?"

"No, not at all. As you can see, I'm as fine as fine can be." As if to emphasize this point, he made a few gestures in the air with his arms.

"I'm glad to see that. We'll take our leave then. Let's go, Hector, Saige."

"Wait a moment, please! A token of my thanks..."

"Do not worry yourself. We did nothing to merit reward."

"That's right. We've no need of a peddler's junk." I felt the corner of my mouth begin to twitch at Lord Hector's comment.

"P-P-Peddler?" Merlinus seemed taken-aback, and shocked.

"Hector!" Eliwood exclaimed.

"Ahem! I am Merlinus. You'll find no other traveling merchant whose goods compare. Don't let your eyes fool you: I'm quite prosperous." Merlinus tried to recover from the 'peddler' comment.

"Huh? You're a merchant? Books and knives and all that, eh?" the twitch was getting worse.

"Hector, your manners are terrible. Merlinus, please... Pay no mind to what this oaf has to say."

"No, of course not. I wasn't concerned at... Ahem! By the way, you two obviously come from highborn houses. Would you grant me the honor of your names?" Merlinus quickly changed the subject before any more damage was done.

"I am Eliwood, son of the Marquess of Pherae."

"I'm Hector. Marquess Ostia's brother."

"Goodness! Ostia! Pherae! The greatest houses in all of Lycia!" Merlinus exclaimed—I had to refrain from mocking him with his over-exaggerated hand movements and speech. "Ahh... To be saved by noblemen such as yourselves... It is an honor beyond words!"

"_Beyond words_!" My voice was barely above a whisper—I couldn't help it—but Merlinus ignored it completely.

"It's nice to be appreciated for a change." I cast him a sidelong glance that said, _you have got to be kidding me_. He continued, "Lately, people just seem to want us dead. Tell me, Merlinus, what are your plans?"

"Pardon? My plans, my lord? I had planned to travel Lycia selling my merchandise, but... It may not be possible in such dangerous times."

"If that's the case, why don't you come along with us?" my glare was—I was sure—burning a hole in the side of Hector's head. Was it really necessary? Even though it'd be useful to have someone to carry all of our weapons, it was bad enough with Serra (aka. Queen of all Drama) alone…we didn't need another one!

"Hector?"

"Our travels will not be ending anytime soon. We've gained more people and more items, right? It might be good to have help managing our things." I sighed—it was true…besides, we didn't have much chance of meeting another merchant who was willing to ride into danger with us.

"Oho! Now that is a splendid idea! Managing merchandise is my specialty, after all!"

"Are you sure?"

"Quite sure, my lord. To be honest, I've dreamt of working for a noble house. To have my fondest wish granted in such a way... I cannot stem these tears of joy! Lord Hector! Lord Eliwood! Take me into your bosoms and keep me safe forever!" I slapped a hand up to my face at his last exclamation, but said nothing.

"Uh... Thank you. Well met, Merlinus."

"We're counting on you! Now, I've got some things I want you to carry..."

"Yes, of course. Whatever you have, Merlinus will keep!"

_A droll merchant named Merlinus now joins Eliwood's group. With Merlinus in tow, they set out for Laus the following day. Laus is located in the heart of Lycia, a territory ruled by the power-hungry Marquess of Laus, Lord Darin. Preparation for the war of which the Pheraen Magistrate spoke... The disappearance of Eliwood's father, Elbert... The death of Marquess Santaruz... Do these all revolve around Lord Darin? In Eliwood's heart, the need for truth is drowned in fear... A fear of what that truth may hold._

_~Erik~_

"Are you certain? Pherae's heir is here?" Lord Darin questioned.

"Yes, Father. We've just received word from our lookouts. He's still beyond that hill, but he'll be here before long." Erik replied.

"Lord Ephidel, what is the meaning of this?" he turned to the cloaked figure beside him—all you could see of his face was his glowing golden eyes.

"Perhaps when they reached Santaruz Castle, Lord Helman was still clinging to life."

"You can't be serious!" exclaimed Darin.

"He couldn't have lasted too long, but... maybe he told them something."

"That's terrible! Our plan! It's all for naught, isn't it?"

"No need to be so alarmed, my lord. Even if he told young Eliwood something of our schemes, Pherae no longer has any power. All Eliwood could do is perhaps inform Marquess Ostia."

"Ostia? That would ruinous! Lord Uther may be young and new to the throne, but he's dangerous. That addlepated Helman! He was a coward to the end! To betray us now, when we're so close... We only need a little more time to complete our plans for rebellion!"

"Then before Marquess Ostia becomes aware of any of this, you would do well to stop them here."

"Yes, you're right, of course. We do have a chance. They have to pass through Laus to get to Ostia. We can still silence them!"

"They must not pass. No matter the cost."

"Let us make haste. Call up our finest troops."

"Father! Please, let me take the command." Erik pleaded.

"Erik! Tell me, Son, can you succeed?'

"That clod Eliwood and I studied together in Ostia. He's a trusting fool. If he sees me, he'll lower his guard. And when he does, we strike!"

"I see."

"I beg your pardon. Is this not too much for him? If, by strange chance, he fell, things could turn for the worse." Lord Ephidel spoke again.

"No, I know I'm the lad's father, but Erik's quite clever, I tell you. Snuffing Pherae's whelp will be no trouble at all. It's settled! It's up to you now, Erik. Bring me the head of Pherae's darling son!" (A/N: lol…did he just insult himself?)

"Yes, Father! I will not fail you!"

_~Saige~_

"Look around... They truly are preparing for battle. Bah! Marquess Laus! What is he scheming?" Hector asked himself.

Eliwood stayed silent.

"You don't much look like you want to go to the castle."

"If we go and learn the truth, we may have to go to war."

"That's fine with me!" I personally agreed with Hector.

"I... I've no love for war. If I concentrate on the foe before me, I'm fine. If I picture families, innocents caught up in our foolish politics? If I imagine them... All I can do is pray for a way to solve things peacefully." Eliwood said.

"Eliwood..."

"Lord Eliwood! A knight has ridden forth from the castle." Marcus interrupted.

"A lone knight?" that did seem a little odd…

"Yes, my lord. Our scouts say it's Marquess Laus' son, Erik. He is asking to see you."

"Erik?"

"Gah. Why did it have to be that buffoon?" apparently Hector wasn't too fond of this Erik…

"I will see him. Bring him here."

"I'm leaving. I never could abide him. I'll go for a ride and survey our surroundings." he quickly left before Erik approached us.

"Hello! It's been a long time, Eliwood!" Erik called out to us.

"Erik... What is your business?"

"My business? What do you mean? I heard my old friend was here in Laus. I merely thought I'd ride out to greet you!" Eliwood didn't say anything to that. "So tell me, friend, what brings you to Laus? Are you... on your way to Ostia?"

"Hm? Why would you think that?"

"Well, you were always such good friends with Hector. He and I never... got along very well. For a noble, his behavior was crude, and his manner of speech... You would have thought him a peasant on first glance. You're still friends with Hector, aren't you? When did you see him last? How do you communicate?" my head snapped up at his last few questions. Something here was definitely off. I let my eyes discreetly sweep through the trees as they continued.

"Erik... You're after something. What is it?"

"Pardon?"

"Everywhere I look, Laus prepares for battle. What are you and your father planning? I will know the truth!" Eliwood wasn't as dumb as they evidently thought he was.

"Hm... I'd hoped to wait until you'd told me of Ostia. Of whether you've spoken with the Marquess or not."

"What are you talking about?"

Erik gave an evil-sounding laugh, "Eliwood, I have always despised you. How I've longed to smash you and your pathetic morality into pieces! I've dreamed of this day, and here it is at last!"

"Too bad you'll not live to see the end of it." I was extremely grateful when Hector appeared on the edge of the tree line again.

"Hector!"

"Y-You! Hector! You couldn't... Have you spoken with Ostia already?"

"Maybe we have, maybe we haven't. Eliwood, this mongrel has troops lying in ambush all around us. Laus regulars, every one. We're in for a rough time."

Another low laugh from Erik, "There's little point in fighting. You're trapped! My forces will overwhelm you, an unending torrent of soldiers! Laus' elite knights are at the ready as well. How long do you think you can survive?"

A strangled sound of frustration was ripped from my throat as I pulled my dagger free of its sheath with a short shing and leaped forward, meaning to stab Erik in the heart. However, the knight's reflexes saved him; his shield snapped up at the last second, my dagger glancing off harmlessly. The recoil of my failed strike sent me stumbling back into Hector, who caught me effortlessly.

Erik cackled at my attempt, wheeled his horse, and galloped back to the castle.

"Craven cur!" Eliwood shouted at his back.

"Next time, just leave the fighting to us." I glared at Hector, before wrenching my arms out of his hands.

The shocked look he gave me made me relent. Sighing, I nodded. "Right…well, I guess I'll just leave this fight to you guys then…"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_~Lord Darin~_

A soldier broke into Lord Darin's throne room, "Lord Erik is struggling! He requests reinforcements!"

"What?" Darin seemed incredulous, "Ready the men."

"Unbelievable... These numbers cannot stop them." Ephidel muttered, and then turned to leave.

"Ephidel? W-Where are you going?" Lord Darin stuttered.

"It seems that conquering Lycia might have been too much to ask of you after all. I must inform my master. The Black Fang will be leaving at once."

"No! You... You can't abandon us! Not at this stage!"

"Who was it that said Ostia mustn't learn of our plans? Wasn't it you, Lord Darin? The Marquess of Laus himself?"

"Y-Yes, it was. There's no turning back for me. Not now! P-P-Please! One more... Give me one more chance. I assure you, I will not disappoint Lord Nergal!"

"Very well... Assemble your men. We will regroup elsewhere."

"Eh? You can't mean... My son... my home... Am I to abandon them?"

"Would you fall in disgrace along with your son? Our master, Lord Nergal, is offering you the throne of all Lycia... Surely a few sacrifices are not too much to ask?"

"Yes... You're right. My destiny is greater than this. I was born to be king of Lycia."

"And as for an heir? You're still young, my lord. You will have time. You must not let a moment's sentimentality cloud your judgment."

Darin went silent.

_~Saige~_

"Unhand me! I am no one's prisoner! Gwaaa!" Erik cried.

"Come on, Erik! Get up!" Hector pulled him to his feet.

"You... You peasants... You can't treat a proper noble like this!"

"It's too late for niceties! Be thankful you're still breathing!"

"Erik, you must tell me. Where is your father? We've searched the entire castle, and there's no one here." Eliwood questioned.

I laughed, "It seems he's left you here…alone…"

"D-Don't be ridiculous!" Erik stuttered. "My father would not abandon... No! He'd never..." He trailed off, before muttering angrily, "Ephidel..."

"Ephidel? Who's that?"

Erik didn't reply.

"Speak, cur! Do you want to die here?" Hector's threats seemed to be pretty successful.

"Ah!"

"Hector!" Eliwood exclaimed. "Erik... please. You must tell us everything you know. I...I just want to know where my father is."

"...Ephidel... He appeared at the castle one year ago. He came...and my father changed. Ostia's position had always bothered my father...He felt Laus deserved to rule all of Lycia. But he'd never gone so far as to speak of rebellion."

"Did you say... rebellion?" asked Hector, his voice low.

"Ephidel had something... With it, he convinced my father to set this plan in motion. My father then sent envoys to several other Marquesses. Marquess Pherae, he had approved of the idea."

"What?"

"Never! My father would never agree to such a thing!" Eliwood cried.

"Believe or disbelieve. That is your choice. First was Marquess Santaruz. Then Marquess Pherae's reply arrived. Marquess Pherae visited here six months ago to seal his approval." There…was something in his story that was missing…

"That's not... possible..."

"My father and yours argue vehemently that day. Marquess Pherae always distrusted Ephidel. He tried to convince my father to send Ephidel and the Black Fang assassins out of Lycia. My father would not be persuaded, and Marquess Pherae left the castle. As you know, he then disappeared. I doubt he's still alive."

"No!"

"Shut your mouth!" Hector said to Erik.

"Eliwood said he wanted to hear everything. My father... He is but Ephidel's puppet. He'll listen to anything that villain says. Even watch his own son...die...Those are the sort of people you're dealing with. Marquess Pherae betrayed them. They would not let him live!" Erik broke off into broken laughter.

"Ah..." Eliwood turned and swept away quickly.

"Wait! Eliwood!" Hector followed him.

I looked to Marcus, "Tie him up and leave him in the castle. There's no need for any more blood to be shed today."

I went after the two nobles, ignoring the shouts of Erik behind me.

"Eliwood..." Hector began.

"My father is alive...And...I cannot believe he supports...rebellion. There must be...There has to be a reason..."

"I know. I don't believe any of this for an instant. My brother trusted Marquess Pherae more than anyone. First, we'll find your father and discover the truth. We'll talk to my brother after that."

"Hector, I'm sorry..."

"Don't look like that. Your father is surely alive. Right?"

"Yes, of course... Marquess Laus... Black Fang assassins... Now this mysterious Ephidel... I'll find them all and prove my father's innocence!"

"Eliwood…Perhaps you'd like to know about the Black Fang…Lyn and I encountered them a year ago…they were the same men who were after Ninian, remember? Black cloaks…everything. I wouldn't be surprised if we come across Ninian and Nils before all this is over…"

"Hmm…You're right, that would make sense…"

"Wait. You and Lyn? You were the tactician that took back Caelin?" that was right…Hector hadn't recognized me.

"Indeed."

**A/N: I tend to cut it off at…basically random times, apparently. Whatever I feel like at the time. Anyway, I just can't help but mock people who are being overly dramatic, so I just had to mock Merlinus…at least a little. Oh, and Kent finally shows up in the next chapter ^.^**


	6. Chapter 5: Noble Lady of Caelin

**A/N: So here it is. Thank you for the reviews, and also, I was already thinking of writing a prequel about Lyn's story-now I think I just might do it! :)**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FIRE EMBLEM.**

Chapter 5—Noble Lady of Caelin

_In Laus, Erik tells Eliwood of a plan. A plot to use Laus as starting ground in a rebellion against Ostia. Eliwood needs proof to believe these accusations, and so he and his allies pursue Darin, the fleeing Marquess of Laus. Where that chase would lead, Eliwood could not have known._

_~Laus Castle~_

"Blast! Where on earth has that snake Darin gone?" Hector exclaimed, his eyes sweeping the landscape as though he might be able to see the Marquess and his men somewhere within the trees.

"I doubt he's left Lycia yet, but... Hector... it's been five days. The death of Marquess Santaruz... Our attack on Laus Castle... Word of these things must have reached Lord Uther by now. And yet he shows no sign of action... Why?" Eliwood questioned.

"I'm sure he has his reasons. My brother has other concerns tying his hands right now."

"What do you mean?"

"It's Bern. We've received disturbing reports over the past few months. King Desmond is behaving oddly. If he sees even the slightest crack in Lycia's defenses, we believe he'll invade with all of Bern's might behind him. My brother has only recently become Marquess, as well as head of the Lycian League. He can't allow another country to see any weakness or discord."

"He has to present the face of stability and strength, is that it?"

"Yes. It seems every country has a spy working in Ostia right now. They all want to assess the new Marquess' temperament and skill. If they sense anything wrong, word will spread like wildfire."

"Hector, you're the Marquess' brother... Would not being at his side be seen as something 'wrong'?"

"The Marquess' brother is a well-known lout. If I _were_ at court, they'd sense something wrong."

"You're not too proud of that reputation, are you?"

"Not in the least."

"Then why do you maintain it?" I whispered, but no one heard.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Lord Eliwood! Lord Hector! Lady Saige!"

"What is it, Marcus? Have you heard something?"

"Yes, my lord. A messenger from the east! Castle Caelin has fallen to a surprise attack from Marquess Laus!"

"Castle Caelin?" Eliwood exclaimed.

"They've struck again."

"We have to help Lyn!" I said to Lord Eliwood.

"Lord Hausen, is he unharmed?" Eliwood questioned.

"We've no word on Lord Hausen…" he tossed me a glance, "or his granddaughter, the Lady Lyndis."

"I never expected them to attack Caelin... Lord Hausen... Lyndis..."

"Lord Eliwood, Lord Hector... What should we do?"

"They might still be alive, right? There's only one thing we can do!" Hector began.

"We ride to their aid! There may still be time!" and Eliwood finished.

_~Castle Caelin~_

"Milady, I've returned, and I have brought news. Laus soldiers are scattered from the castle to the edge of this forest. There must be at least fifty soldiers!" Kent spoke to Lady Lyndis as she turned to greet him.

"Are you sure about this, milady? We barely escaped. Going back to the castle would mean almost certain death." Sain warned.

"My grandfather is in the castle. I left the castle on his orders, but... I can't leave him in there alone!" Lyndis said, the familiar determined look returning into her blue eyes. A few soldiers weren't going to get between her and her grandfather.

"The numbers we face... Rescuing Lord Hausen will be no easy task." Wil stated.

"I wonder if we can expect any reinforcements." Sain said, looking back at the castle—most of their men had been captured and were now prisoners within Castle Caelin. No, it wasn't likely that they'd get any help from there.

"I overheard some of the Laus soldiers talking. They claim that Lord Eliwood invaded Laus and drove them out." Kent said.

"Eliwood? Why would he attack Laus?" Lyn asked Kent, her brow beginning to furrow.

"It gets even more interesting... Not only did Marquess Laus abandon his castle, but he also left his son, Erik, behind when he fled here to Caelin."

"That's despicable! He abandoned his own son?" Sain exclaimed.

"But at least we know Eliwood is in Laus. We might be able to ask him for help. ...Assuming there were a way to contact him…" Lyn trailed off.

"If we are to avoid being caught, the best path would be through the forest. Shall I go?" Wil asked.

"I suspect you're right. Horses cannot move well in woods... It'll take you a while, but you can travel lightly—"

"Lady Lyndis! I'll go! I can fly above the forest. I can be in Laus faster than anyone else." Florina, the Pegasus Knight, interrupted Lyn.

"Florina? You can't do this on your own! It's not possible!"

"Thanks to my time here, I'm no longer as timid around men as I used to be. And I've met Lord Eliwood before. I'm sure I can do this on my own."

"It will be terribly dangerous... You understand, don't you?"

"Yes. But... I promised myself I would become braver for you. I'm not the weak little Florina I used to be. I'll be fine. Trust me."

"You've convinced me. The job's yours, Florina. But you must promise me that you won't try anything impossible!"

"Yes, my lady. Farewell!" Florina spurred her Pegasus into the air, rising into the clouds.

"Did you hear our meek Florina? She sounded most forceful! Beautiful!" there went Sain again, just when you thought he'd be focused on the situation at hand, talking about women.

"She's become a full-fledged Pegasus Knight." Kent said as he watched Florina vanish above the cloud cover.

Lyn agreed, "Yes, she has."

"All for you, Lady Lyndis. That's quite gallant." Wil put in.

"When we lived on the plains, I was always her protector. I know I shouldn't feel sad, and yet..."

_~High Above~_

"To reach Laus, I must go over the forest... and fly north. Then, I'll have to..." Florina was speaking to herself. "Wait! Who are those people? They fly no banner, and yet..." she flew a little lower to get a better view. "Ah! That man in the lead! It's Lord Eliwood! He's come to Caelin's aid! That's wonderful. I have to tell him where Lady Lyndis is waiting!"

"I've spotted the enemy... Why are their archers advancing? They're aiming at something up high." Hector observed.

"Lord Eliwood, look! Up there! A Pegasus Knight!" Marcus called out.

Up above, just below the clouds, was a Pegasus Knight I easily recognized as Florina.

"Lord Eliwood!" she yelled over the wind.

"Could it really be...? Florina, is that you?" Eliwood raised his voice.

"Yes! I'm Lady Lyndis'..."

"Florina! Fly lower!" I called out, voice full of urgency.

"Wha—Oh! Aaaaaaah!" The enemy's archers finally let loose a volley. None hit Florina or her Pegasus, but she fell from her mount.

"Florina!" Eliwood rushed forward, barely catching her in time.

"... Ah..." she moaned.

"Can you hear me? Florina?"

"Lord Eliwood? ...I..."

"Those archers almost hit you. You avoided the arrows, but you lost your balance." Eliwood said as he set her back on her feet, and steadied her when she stumbled.

"I'm sorry. I'm such trouble..."

"I'm just glad you're not hurt. Tell me, Florina, weren't you with Lyndis?"

"Yes! Lord Eliwood, Lady Lyndis is beyond that forest." She indicated the trees to our left with a finger. "She's waiting for a chance to assault the castle."

"She's what! Ah... Still, it's good to hear she's safe."

"She's fine. However, Lord Hausen's been captured. He's still in the castle."

"I see. Let's go then!"

Florina turned to me, looking nervous. "Eh…do you remember me, Saige? I-I was the Pegasus Knight that was with Lyn—"

I smiled. "Yes, Florina, I do remember you. I apologize for that incident."

She gave a small smile back. "It's alright. I know you didn't see those archers."

Nodding, I turned to face all of our group. "Okay…" I slowly began, already forming a plan. "Dorcas, Bartre, Oswin, Hector, Eliwood, you all go through the trees; Rebecca and Erk, cover them, and Serra, stay close behind them to heal them when necessary. Marcus, Lowen, Priscilla, your horses will obviously not move well in the forest…so try to circle around. If any of you come in contact with Lyn, inform her of our plan. I will stay back here."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

I had found a vantage point from a nearby hill—I could see over almost the entire battlefield. As such, I saw the fast approaching Cavalier. He wore red plate armor, but that did little to help me distinguish friend from foe. He held a lance in his hand, and a sword was strapped to his belt. Lowen didn't wear red, and Marcus wielded a lance only.

I felt my heart accelerate. There was no Eliwood to protect me now. I could try to use my dagger, but it would be little use against someone who was not only mounted, but had a lance and a shield to keep me at bay before shish-kebabing me.

All he'd need to do would be to come charging up the hill on his horse and skewer me just like that, but he dismounted as he came nearer. For a moment I wondered if he'd not seen me, or if he'd simply come up here, away from the battle for a break, but that was counted out when he started up the hill.

Well, now that he wasn't mounted, that'd make it a fraction easier, but he still had a lance. He could still kill me from a yard away. Underneath my cape, I grasped the hilt of my dagger so tightly I was sure that my knuckles were turning white, the other hand twisting Lyn's hairband—the one that she'd put in my hair a year ago—around my wrist, as I usually did when I was nervous.

I'd play it as though I was helpless until he reached me, and then I'd strike.

The upper half of his face and his hair was hidden entirely by his helm—it seemed I wouldn't get to look the person who killed me in the eyes as I died.

The dreaded moment arrived—he finally crested the hill, probably sweating profusely underneath all of the armor in the hot sun. I swiftly executed my last-minute attack—drawing my dagger and launching myself forward.

The Cavalier had sharp reflexes and caught my left wrist—the hand with the dagger in it—and easily stopped my attack. However, I caught him off-balance, and we both fell, rolling down the side of the hill. There was a sharp sting in my arm as I felt a rock graze the skin. He managed to keep the blade of my dagger away from both of us, and he dropped his lance.

The breath was knocked right out of me when the Cavalier landed on top of me.

He reached back and pulled off his helmet, "It's me." Sweat made his orange hair cling to his temples and his handsome face was completely in shadow.

"Oh," I managed, breathlessly. "Kent." My dagger dropped to the ground with a thud,

"Heh…sorry about that. I thought you were an enemy."

He rolled off me and got to his feet. "Lady Lyndis sent me to protect you once Eliwood told her you were here alone. They were both worried for you."

I waved my hand, sitting up, and trying to catch my breath again, "It's fine."

"They both think you should not be alone, so far away from everyone. They thought you were in danger." He gave me a hard look as I opened my mouth to dismiss it again, "And I agree. What if I had been one of Laus' men?"

I was silent for a moment. He was right—if he had been an enemy, then I wouldn't still be breathing. "I still could have defended myself. They would not have known what hit them. You're far better of a knight than any of Laus' thugs, so…" I trailed off once I realized what I'd just said.

There was an awkward silence for a moment before Kent broke it—"So you are under Lord Eliwood's command now?"

Taking his hand when it was offered to me, I replied, "Yes. Of course, he and Hector do all the real work…"

"Lady Saige." He gave me a rather intense look. "If you did not direct them in battle…"

"Yes, yes…strategy and whatnot. But that's all I do. Eliwood and Hector not only command their men, but they also fight alongside them. I do not feel right when I could be sending my friends to potential death—I feel like a coward sitting back here. I wish I could fight too…" I said as I reached for my dagger and re-sheathed it.

"When you first joined us, we all accepted that you were not going to fight. We all put our confidence in your tactical skill—don't make it sound like you're craven and hide behind us. You attacked me without hesitation when I approached earlier—it must have taken a great deal of courage to do so." I examined the wound on my arm—the skin split into a bloody mess. I had barely felt it on the way down, but now that we'd stopped moving, it started to really hurt.

I paused, and then I started back up the hill, clutching my arm.

Then, turning back to look at him as he began to follow, I said quietly, "Thank you, Kent."

He inclined his head and picked up his lance.

"Why didn't you bring your horse up as well?"

"The battle could drag on for hours—I tied him in the shade, where there is plenty of grass for him to graze on."

"I see. So…will you join us? Lord Eliwood and Lord Hector, I mean?"

"If Lady Lyndis wishes it to be so."

I nodded as we reached the top of the hill, and then settled down into the grass again.

After a few minutes of Kent standing there like a statue, I finally spoke again. "Sit down—it's not like any of Laus' men are going to make it past Eliwood, Hector, and Lyn. Even if they did, I doubt they'd come all the way back here to attack us—and we'd be able to see them from a long ways off." I sighed when he didn't move. "Kent. It's fine. Nobody's coming!"

Reluctantly, he lowered himself down into the cool grass and balanced his lance across his lap. However, he still sat tensed for danger, back as stiff as a board. "Relax!" I said to him, but I had a feeling that was one thing he wasn't going to do.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_~Lord Eliwood~_

"Commander Bauker... He was a fierce enemy. Lyndis, once we've defeated the remaining foe, the castle's yours." Eliwood spoke to Lyn.

"Thank you, Eliwood. If not for your help, I don't know where I'd be right now."

"All of this happened because we routed Lord Darin at Laus. It's only right that we help."

"You explained your motives to me, Eliwood. This is about your father. I would do the same thing in your position. What happened in Caelin is not your fault."

"Thank you. However, until your castle is yours again, I take responsibility."

"I understand. Thank you."

"Eliwood! We're moving into the castle!" Hector said.

"All right."

"Who's that?" Lyn asked Eliwood.

"Oh, yes. Let me introduce you. Hector!"

"What?" Hector turned back to the pair.

"This is Lyndis. She's Lord Hausen's granddaughter. Lyndis, this is Hector. He's Lord Uther's brother."

"His brother? Really?"

"Yes."

"I was watching the way he fights... He's not like you, Eliwood. He's somewhat like my own knights, but different still. He relies so much on power. It's like he's never been..." Lyndis trailed off.

"I haven't. I taught myself how to fight."

"I've no issue with that, but the way you swing that axe around..." Lyn exclaimed, "You're a threat to your allies! You should be more watchful."

"What did you say?"

"Lyndis? What's come over you?" Eliwood seemed somewhat confused as well.

"Hm? Oh... I... My apologies. I didn't intend to seem so critical."

"Granted, Hector's style may be a tad dangerous, but... There's no one I depend on more. You may think him careless, but he's always aware of his surroundings." Eliwood explained.

"The more you praise me, the less worthy I sound."

"Lyndis, once you fight alongside Hector, I'm sure you'll understand."

"I'm sure you're right. I apologize, Hector. I'm honored to have your help."

"No apology necessary. I'm glad I can lend a hand."

"Let's go inside, shall we?" Eliwood turned to lead the way.

"Lord Eliwood!" It was Saige—she was riding on the back of Kent's horse. She was riding comfortably and smoothly—no jarring bumps—as though she'd done it many times before.

"Well! This really is a pleasant surprise!" Sain called out.

"Hello, Saige! Has it really been a year?" Wil said.

"Saige! Is it really you, Saige? So good to see you! Have you been well?" Lyn ran to them, Sain following.

Saige gave a small smile as Sain helped her down. "Yes, I have. Thank you for sending Kent, but I would've been fine on my own."

"What happened to your arm?" Lyn asked, looking skeptical. Saige's arm was bandaged with a reddish cloth, and blood was crusted around the edges.

"That happened when she attacked me."

"I didn't mean to tackle you…" I muttered.

Sain's eyes widened in a mock look of shock. "A woman tackled you, Kent? This day just keeps getting stranger and stranger!"

Kent gave him a look, and his voice was sharp. "Sain…"

"Everyone who remained in Caelin speaks of you fondly, Saige. We're always saying 'I wonder where Saige is...' And you are right here. This isn't the best time to catch up, though. We're here to rescue my grandfather. Saige, will you help me again?"

"Of course."

_~Lord Darin~_

"Ri... Ridiculous... Even Bauker?" Lord Darin was incredulous.

"Lord Darin, it's time to give up this madness. Further resistance is meaningless. For what you've done, you may never be forgiven, but it's not too late to try. Tell Eliwood everything. He'll intervene with Marquess Ostia on your behalf..." Lord Hausen reasoned.

"I... I've lost..."

"Hurry! Eliwood will be here in no time. Let me speak for you—ah!" he broke off when Lord Ephidel stabbed him.

"None of that now. Marquess Laus needs no troublesome advice."

"L-Lord Ephidel?"

"There is no turning back for you now. You should know that. First, Marquess Santaruz... and now Marquess Caelin. Both deaths are on your head."

"What? It was by your hand that they both died! I-I never asked for this."

"Yes, I killed them... for you."

"To... trap me?"

"Don't be absurd. I follow my master's orders. My only wish is to deliver your dreams to you. The crown of a united Lycia... And once that is done, dominion over the entire continent. Is that not what you desire?"

"...Yes...Yes, of course. That dream is still worth a few sacrifices, isn't it?"

"You're exactly right. Our plans may have gone drastically awry, but as long as we have the master's power behind us, we cannot be defeated. We'd do well to leave now, before those meddlesome worms arrive. You will leave everyone from Laus behind. We will use them to delay our foe."

"Everyone... My soldiers? But... who will protect me?"

"The Black Fang and I will more than suffice for that task. There is nothing else you need, I assure you."

"Yes...I...I see that now. Where do we go from here?"

"To the Dragon's Gate... Our master awaits us there. The master has informed me our hostage may be all we need. If all goes well, we may be able to perform the ceremony with him alone."

"Oh! Is that so? I suppose we've nothing to worry about."

"That is correct. Now please, begin your retreat. I have two or three orders to give, and then I will be right behind you."

_~Lord Ephidel~_

"Pathetic imbecile... Leila? Where are you?" Ephidel muttered the first part to himself.

"I'm here." A woman appeared from the shadows.

"While Eliwood is occupied, finish off Marquess Caelin and hide the body. The enemy will waste precious time searching for him."

"As you command..."

"You know, you've only been with the Black Fang a short while. However, you are quite skilled... I look forward to watching you."

"Yes, sir."


	7. Chapter 6: Whereabouts Unknown

**A/N: I'm not too sure about this chapter. I think it'll probably get better with the next two, since this one is mostly just advancing the storyline. **

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FIRE EMBLEM.**

Chapter 6—Whereabouts Unknown

_Eliwood and colleagues defeat Bauker, one of Marquess Laus' lackeys. They then press on toward Castle Caelin. Yet inside the castle many Laus soldiers remain. Eliwood and friends begin their assault on the castle to save Marquess Caelin._

_~Saige~_

We were all gathered inside the castle, preparing to attack.

"There are still quite a few Laus soldiers in the castle." Eliwood told us.

"Where are the Caelin guards?" Hector asked Lyn.

"I think about half of them were killed in the surprise attack. The survivors must be here somewhere..." she replied.

"They might be locked away as prisoners... We'd better rescues them quickly. If Marquess Laus decides to hold them hostage, it will make seizing the throne much more difficult." I said.

"It's settled! Let's find the guards and retake the castle!" Hector said.

"Hold on, Grandfather. We'll be there shortly." Lyn said almost to herself.

"Seize the throne! It's time to reclaim the castle!" Eliwood told the rest of our group.

"Good luck." I spoke to the three Lords as I scratched at my cut from earlier—it was beginning to itch.

"You should come with us this time, I think." Lyn said.

Eliwood and Hector evidently agreed—I could tell I wasn't going to win this one.

I sighed. "Very well, if I must."

"We only want you to be safe. If we lost you…" Eliwood didn't finish, leaving the rest to imagination.

"Yes…I suppose. Alright."

"We're under your command, Saige." Kent told me, speaking of not only himself, but of Sain, Wil, and Florina.

"Saige. The captured Caelin soldiers are most likely exhausted. I'd like to protect them and keep them from having to fight. I realize that makes it difficult for you to play a strategy, but... I will do my best to take up their share of the fighting. Now, please tell us what we should do, Saige." Eliwood spoke to me.

I nodded. "Okay. Kent, Sain, Eliwood, Lyn and Hector, you carve us a path to the throne room. Florina, attack them from above." The high, vaulted ceilings would allow her some low flying. "Rebecca, Wil, stay close to each other. Erk, stay with Priscilla and Serra and protect them. Priscilla, Serra, be sure to keep close enough to everyone to heal them, but not too close that you'll be attacked. Let's go."

Everyone began to move into their positions—I was going to follow Lyn, but Eliwood caught my arm and pulled me closer. "Stay with me this time, Saige."

A weak smile spread onto my face, "Of course."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_~Raven~_

"Hey, you. Let me out of here." Raven spoke to the soldier who was guarding their cell.

"What?"

"Marquess Ostia's brother is among your enemy, right? Let me out, and I'll help you. But I must have the brother. I've a score to settle with house Ostia."

"Do you think me a fool? You work for house Caelin! I cannot trust your word!"

"Then I'll have to break down this door and go through you. You were using Lucius as a hostage, but now he's here with me..."

"Uh..." the soldier seemed uncertain how to respond to this.

"No, Lord Raven! You mustn't! You cannot betray your debt to Marquess Caelin!" Lucius exclaimed.

"Shut up, Lucius. You think me foolish, but you don't understand...How about it?"

"Very well. You! Get out! Remember, if you betray us, your companion dies."

"I see. Just remember, if that happens, you die next."

"Wait! You can't go alone! It's too dangerous!"

"Lucius, stay here and be quiet. I'll be back for you."

"Lord Raven!" Lucius called to his back, but the mercenary didn't even turn around.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_~Lady Lyndis~_

"Grandfather! Grandfather! Where..." Lyn called out.

"Lord Hausen? Where are you?" Eliwood raised his voice.

"Eliwood. Here, on the throne..." Hector paused as they approached to look, and lowered his voice, "It's blood."

"Blood? No! It can't be!" Lyn cried out.

"Lyndis! Calm down. He might only be injured. Come, let us find him." Eliwood attempted to calm her.

"Yes, you're right. I must be calm. There! Over there!" Lyn pointed to the shadows,

"There's someone..."

"Who's there? Show yourself!"

Whoever it was, they didn't move.

"You... Leila!" Hector apparently knew this person from the shadows.

"Yes, it's me, Lord Hector. It's been a long time." Leila stepped forward.

"You know her?" Eliwood asked.

"Yes, her name's Leila. She... works for Ostia... All right, she's a spy."

"Lord Eliwood of Pherae and Lady Lyndis of Caelin, correct? I am Leila. Pleased to make your acquaintance. Lady Lyndis, Marquess Caelin is back there receiving treatment."

"My grandfather is safe?" Lyndis exclaimed.

"... His life is yet his own."

"Ah! Father Sky and Mother Earth! I thank you for your mercy!"

"Leila, what are you doing here?"

"I... I'm following Lord Uther's orders. I'm investigating Marquess Pherae's disappearance."

"My father? What have you learned?" Eliwood questioned.

"Come with me. We should talk in private."

Eliwood didn't move as Leila led Hector and Lyn—who beckoned for Saige to follow them from where she was speaking to Raven—into an adjacent room.

"Huh? Come on, Eliwood." Hector paused at the doorway.

"Ah..."

"Worrying about things won't change them."

"I know. I'm fine. Let's go!"

_~Saige~_

"Let me start with my conclusion." The woman who was apparently Leila began.

Eliwood stood, looking down at the floor, while I gripped his shoulder with one hand. Hector stood on the other side of him, and Lyn was on the other side of me. Leila stood in front of the four of us.

"Marquess Pherae… is alive."

Eliwood's head shot up at this, his face breaking into a smile.

"Whooooo! Eliwood!" a small smile touched my own face at Hector's outburst.

"That's wonderful!" Lyn said as I pat Eliwood on the back.

"Are you sure?"

"I've been posing as a member of the Black Fang for several months. That's where I got this information. I believe it is true."

"Black Fang… They're the assassin's guild that Erik spoke of."

"Yes, we've known of their existence for quite some time."

"Explain." Hector's voice was commanding.

"The Black Fang is a guild of assassins founded about ten years ago by Brendan Reed. They're based in Bern. Their arms reached quickly in several other countries. Originally, they targeted only nobles who abused their positions. The masses saw them as chivalrous, defenders of the common man. Their activities found wide support."

"Chivalrous…"

"Then about a year ago, Brendan got married again. Black Fang's operations have slowly changed since then. Now, they'll take on any target, no matter how difficult, as long as they're paid. And they're no longer killing only criminals; anyone is a fair target."

"Is this Black Fang responsible for what's happened to my grandfather?"

"Yes. We've learned of a mystery man named Nergal, behind Reed's wife. It seems the Black Fang is performing secret tasks across Lycia for Nergal. Nergal's trusted retainer Ephidel is with Marquess Laus. He manipulated Laus into hatching the rebellion plot against Ostia. The first to answer Laus' call for rebellion was…Marquess Santaruz."

"Lord Helman…Why would you…"

"Next was Lord Elbert, Marquess Pherae."

"You're telling me that my father endorsed this plan?"

"I cannot say. I do know that he is with Marquess Laus currently. In a place called… the Dragon's Gate."

"Dragon's Gate? Where is that?"

"On an isle called Valor, off the southern coast of Lycia. I apologize, but that is all the information I have."

"Of all places to be, Valor…" Hector muttered to himself. "Blast!"

"What kind of place is it?" Lyndis didn't seem to know anything about Valor.

"It's said that those who step onto the island never return. The common folk call it the Dread Isle." I told her some of the lore of the Isle.

"If that's where my father is, however, I will go and find him. And this 'Dragon's Gate,' too!" Eliwood's resolve shone through his voice.

"I'm going with you. I'll tell you right now, you can't stop me." Hector told him.

"I'm also going."

"Lyndis, I appreciate your kindness, but… Shouldn't you stay with Marquess Caelin?"

"Laus must be stopped. Otherwise, they might target my grandfather again. I also wish to help Eliwood's father. Losing a parent… It's an unbearable pain. It's something I'd rather you didn't have to feel yet."

"Lyndis… Hector… Thank you. You give me strength."

"Don't mention it."

"We're friends. It's what friends do, Eliwood."

"Will you come as well, Saige?" Eliwood turned to me.

"It is foolish of you to even ask, Eliwood! Of course I'm going!"

"I'm also going to continue searching. Lady Lyndis, I think it would be prudent to let the world think Marquess Caelin is dead." Leila said to Lyn.

"I understand. I'll do that. Thank you."

"No thanks necessary. If you'll excuse me." Leila turned to leave.

"Leila!" Hector stopped her.

"Yes?"

"Nergal and this… Ephidel? What are they like?"

"I've yet to lay eyes on Nergal. I've spoken to Ephidel on several occasions, however. He's…eerie. He always wears a cloak that covers his face. And yet…" she trailed off.

"What is it?"

"His eyes glow golden… You can't miss them. They seem… inhuman."

_~Matthew~_

"Is that you, Leila?" Matthew seemed to materialize from the shadows.

"Matthew. It's been a long time."

"What have you been doing? More dangerous work?"

"We're spies, Matthew. Everything we do is dangerous."

"That's true. So how long do you think this mission's going to last?"

"My objective is the same as yours: to rescue Marquess Pherae. If things go well, I'll be in Ostia at the same time as you are."

"Is that so? You need to visit my hometown."

"Is this where you were born? Why?"

"…To meet my parents."

"Hm? Matthew…"

"Ha-ha. Well, that's that! See you." He was gone—the only indication that he had even been there was a slight breeze from the flurry of movement.

"As slippery as ever… Didn't even wait for my reply."

_~Lady Lyndis~_

"Lady Lyndis!" one of the soldiers cried out when she appeared from the doorway.

"Everyone... I'm happy to see you all well. I'm going after Marquess Laus. Protect my grandfather."

"One moment, Lady Lyndis. Please take this jewel before you leave." Another of the soldiers stepped forward.

"Jewel?"

"We were able to move it before Laus' men ransacked our vaults. We will take care of Lord Hausen. Please, Lady Lyndis, return to us safely." He explained as he held out a glimmering red gem.

"I will. Thank you." Lyn took the small jewel from his hands.

_~Kent~_

"Kent! Sain!" Saige called out to the two knights, who were helping with the wounded in the courtyard.

Kent turned just in time to be almost knocked over. Saige had run and hugged Kent around the middle—her momentum making him stumble and almost fall for the second time that day.

"Saige?" Kent was looking alarmed.

She grinned up at him. "You, Sain, Wil, and Florina are all accompanying us—Lady Lyn has decided to join us in our search for Eliwood's father. You four are going to make my job _so_ much easier for me."

Meanwhile, Sain was cracking up. "Kent…the look on your face!"

Saige released Kent and punched Sain in the shoulder lightly.

He seemed to barely feel it and he choked out, "Ow?" but he was still laughing.

**A/N: In case you were wondering what the heck was up with that last part there, Saige and Kent were good friends in Lyn's story, so she's happy to have him traveling with her again, and also that—I don't know about anyone else's, but in my playthrough Kent wipes everything off the map if I'm not careful—he makes it easier for her to come up with strategies.**


	8. Chapter 7: Pirate Ship

**A/N: So I'm writing Lyn's story, right now, actually. I'm planning on continuing to update this one as I do, and then adding that one as a separate story after I finish one or two chapters.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FIRE EMBLEM.**

Chapter 7—Pirate Ship

_After speaking with the Ostian spy Leila, Eliwood realizes he must travel to Valor, the Dread Isle. The small island, located south of Lycia, is said to be home to the Dragon's Gate. Heading for the southern coast of Caelin, they seek passage in the port of Badon._

_~Saige~_

"Listen! We need a boat to Valor!" Hector spoke to a nearby sailor in the port.

"You want a boat to the Dread Isle? You're mad! No way! Never! There's no one in this village that'll sail there!"

"Please, we're in a hurry. Can you give us passage?" Lyn asked.

"If you won't help us, can you take us to someone who will? Please." Eliwood said.

"You must be on urgent business, that's certain...There may be one way..."

"What is it? Tell us, please!"

"Pirates."

"Eh? Pirates?" Lyn asked.

"Uh-huh. They're fearless, or as close as makes no difference. And they'll go anywhere for a fee. Who knows? They might decide to accept your mad offer."

"Pirates... Looks like we've no choice."

"Are you serious, Hector? Working with pirates? That's unbelievable!" Lyn exclaimed.

"That may be the only way we're going to get to Valor, Lyn." I muttered to her.

She looked dubious that I'd agree to this.

"You're considering it, aren't you, Eliwood?"

"If there's no other way, what else can we do?"

"You, too, Eliwood? I've misjudged you...It's foolishness to trust the goodwill of pirates! I'm finding another way!" Lyn left the three of us standing in the port.

"Why is she so angry?" Hector asked us.

"I heard that Lyndis' parents were slain by bandits." Eliwood began.

"They were. She told me her story." I put in.

"Bandits at land, pirates at sea... They're all the same to Lyndis. Lawbreakers and murderers."

"I see... My parents died of illness... But I can appreciate her feelings. Shall we abandon the pirate plan?" Hector asked.

"But..."

"Too bad about the girl, but there's no other way." The sailor told us.

"Let's meet the pirates. We can't decide until then." Eliwood reasoned.

"That's true."

"That inn over there is a known favorite of the local freebooters. They're reckless and unpredictable. Best be prepared." The sailor warned.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"What do you want, whelps? You're here to see me, aren't you?" the man—presumably the captain of one of the pirate crews said.

"You're commander of the pirate armada, aren't you?" Eliwood asked him.

The man guffawed. "'Commander of the pirate armada!' I like the sound of that! Are you lads that naive? Or are you just dumb? Which is it?"

"You insolent..." Hector began.

"Peace, Hector! If I've insulted you, I apologize. How should I address you?" Eliwood asked.

"Hmph... You don't frighten easily, do you? Well, at least it seems you're not stupid. "Captain" will do, whelp. I'm Fargus, captain of the Davros."

"Fargus... Master Fargus? Or should I call you Captain?"

"You're not one of my mates. Call me Fargus. Now, what do you want?"

"We want to book passage to Valor."

"How much will you pay?"

"We don't know the current rates. Tell us how much you want."

"100,000 gold."

"Wait, 100,000 gold?" Hector asked, seeming incredulous.

"Well? Will you pay?"

"We've no choice, but we need a little time. We'll get the gold and return as quickly as possible. Come, Hector." Eliwood turned and started out the door, his cape billowing out behind him.

"Wa-Wait a moment! Eliwood!" Hector called after him, before trying to catch up.

I sighed, looked to Captain Fargus, and said, "Thank you."

"No need for thanks lass, as long as I get paid."

I nodded, and headed after the two Lords.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Eliwood! Hold on! Where do you think you're going to get 100,000 gold?"

"I'm sure there's an arena here. We can raise gold somehow..."

I grinned. "Eliwood? You mean to throw Hector in the ring? I'm sure we'd make some money that way."

Hector gaped at me for a moment. "What? You're not serious!"

I laughed. "Hector, I'm jesting. I don't think Eliwood would do that to you…but…"

"We've no other way, do we?"

"Well, no. Sometimes you surprise me, Eliwood." He muttered the last part.

"Did you say something, Hector?"

"No, nothing. Let's go earn some gold!"

"Ahoy! Hold your ground, boys!" one of the pirates approached us.

"What now?" Hector asked. "We don't have the money yet."

"Fool! Of course you don't! I know that. The captain's got a message for you."

"A message?" Eliwood asked.

"All of my mates in this village are going to attack you. If you can beat us all and get to the ship unharmed, he'll give you passage."

"For free? No gold?"

"The captain's a tad off-kilter. He'd rather have a bit o' fun with you than take your gold. Smooth sailing to you."

Eliwood and Hector looked at me. I shrugged. "Who knows? Might as well."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Hey, Landlubber! Over here! I'm over here!" the same pirate who had carried the message earlier waved to us.

"Oh, for... This is a joke, isn't it?" Hector said, clearly exasperated.

"Looks serious enough. Here we go!"

"Listen! The captain's waiting at the docks. Talk to him, and you're the winner! Trust me, though... Don't make the mistake of attacking him! You anger the captain, and there's no turning back! Don't forget!" He shouted to us before vanishing inside of one of the buildings.

"I couldn't find a ship after all. But we have to get to that island...Looks like I'll have to endure pirates. Hm? What was that? Commotion in the village?" Lyndis came up behind us as I figured out the attack strategy.

"Oh! Lyn! Nice timing. We need your help!" Hector said to her.

"You're battling the pirates?"

"Fighting and... Look, we have to reach the docks and speak to the captain! This is a test to see whether or not he'll give us passage."

"I don't understand, but... I'm here, so let me help!"

_~Saige~_

"Aha! You made it, whelps!" Captain Fargus was elated—apparently our fighting style had been quite amusing to him.

"That was... hard..." Hector panted out.

Heck, even my brain was tired from the strategy.

"Haa...haa..." Eliwood was honestly worn out, for the first time in a while. "You'll give us passage now, won't you?"

"I'm a man of the sea. I always keep my word. Are my old eyes lyin' to me? Is this beauty really with you? Gwaa ha ha ha! My lucky day!" at first I thought he meant me—I was alarmed at first, but then I realized he was talking about Lyndis.

Lyn didn't say anything, glaring at the ground.

"Listen, I know how you feel, but you have to accept it. We've no other choice!"

"I know that! I haven't said a word, have I?"

"We can go to the Dread Isle now. Please, Father... be well." Eliwood was talking to himself.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_~Saige~_

I leaned over the side of the ship, breathing in the fresh, crisp air. The sound of the waves crashing against the side of the hull had been unsettling. Truth be told, I had been terrified this entire trip. I couldn't swim—my greatest fear was of deep water—and I was just waiting for the ship to sink for some unknown reason, or for a heavy storm to come upon us.

The dark storm clouds that were on the horizon made me ill just from looking at them.

"Enjoying the view, Saige?"

I recognized Eliwood's voice almost instantly, even before he leaned on the railing beside me.

"Heh…" the short laugh was humorless. "No…quite the opposite, actually."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well—" I cut off as the ship heaved quite suddenly in the waves. Both my hands clenched the railing tightly.

"What's wrong? You went pale all of the sudden."

I swallowed hard, choking back my fear. "Erm…my greatest…fear is of deep water…"

"Oh!" Eliwood looked genuinely surprised. "I hadn't realized. My apologies, Saige…"

I waved one of my hands, the other still gripping the railing tightly, "It's fine, Lord Eliwood. No need for apologies…you could not have known."

"And those storm clouds are troubling you?"

I looked at them for a moment, before my gaze quickly flashed back to Eliwood's face. "Yes. I'm…worried that the ship will sink."

"No need to worry about that now, lass!" we both turned at the voice.

"Captain Fargus…" I groaned out as the ship's deck heaved underneath my feet once again.

"This ol' ship has seen far worse storms than that one—you needn't worry your pretty little head over nothin'."

I turned back to look at the horrible-looking storm on the horizon. It was fast approaching—I was sure it'd be here by nightfall. I was in for a long night.

To be continued...


	9. Chapter 8: A Sage and A Cavalier

**A/N: So I'm going to put up the first chapter of Lyn's story right after I upload this. It's probably going to be under the name "A Knight's Oath."**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FIRE EMBLEM.**

Chapter 8—A Sage, A Circlet, and A Cavalier

_~Saige~_

I groaned and buried my head in my pillow as the ship lurched underneath me.

The storm had finally hit—for the last fifteen minutes, all I'd heard was the howling of the wind, the drumming of rain on the wood of the ship, the shouts of the crew above decks, and the creaking of the ceiling and walls of my small room.

"Still not feeling well?" I lifted my head for a few seconds to see Hector and Eliwood enter—all of the rooms that Captain Fargus had given us were adjacent, separated by doors that had no locks.

"No…" I was trying not to think about what might happen if we hit a group of rocks and if they punched a hole through the hull. Or what would happen if the whole ship ended up being overcome by a giant wave.

"Eliwood told me about earlier." Hector said.

My head shot up. "About my fear of deep water?"

"No…he didn't say anything about that. I assumed you were seasick." I sighed at Hector's reply. Why had I said that? I should've trusted Eliwood more—of course he wouldn't be going around telling everyone about my greatest fear. "You're afraid of water?" he seemed a little surprised, as Eliwood had been at first.

"_Deep_ water. I can't stand lakes, rivers, or…the ocean. I'm afraid the ship will—" I jumped about a foot at the loud rumble of thunder—for a moment I had thought it was the ship's hull dragging against rocks, despite the fact that it would be impossible. "sink." My voice was small as I finished.

"Why? There's nothing to be afraid of."

I just shook my head as I swung my legs out of bed and sat up. "You don't understand. I…" there was a flash of a memory in my mind—something that hadn't happened since Lyn had found me on the plains of Sacae. It was a bit of memory of my past life—I had assumed all of my past memories had been lost in the heat.

Water—lots of it, a choking feeling of not being able to breath, a glow of fire in the distance, pieces of wood floating all around me…the circlet that I now wore being pressed into my hand, and being pushed onto a piece of a long board…

That was all I could remember, but it was enough.

"What—Saige, what just happened? You looked horrified, and grew pale like you'd just seen a ghost!"

"I…I had a…memory."

Both Eliwood and Hector looked confused by this statement. "Why is that unusual?"

I shook my head. "You don't understand. When I woke up—when I woke up and Lyndis had found me—"

"Found you? What do you mean by that?"

"You don't know how I ended up with Lyn, do you? Neither of you do. I had passed out, or something happened to me on the Sacae plains—I had passed out from the heat, I think. Lyn found me—saved my life, really—and took care of me. But mere moments after I had woken up, I couldn't remember anything about my past. The only things I could remember were my name, my trade, and my knowledge of Elibe." In my excitement, I managed to almost completely ignore the feeling of the ship's rocking.

"So you just now had a memory that you thought you'd lost?" I nodded in response to Eliwood's question. "What was it?"

My face darkened once more. "I believe…well, there were only parts—flashes really. But as best as I can deduce…it was a memory from my childhood. I think…I think my parents died in a shipwreck." I slipped the circlet off my head and twisted in around in my hands so I could see the jade inlayed in the center of the silver ring. "And this…this I think was my mother's—I think she gave it to me before she drown."

"I'm—" 'I'm sorry' was what he likely was going to say, but at that instant, Serra poked her head into my room and interrupted.

"Hector! Eliwood!" she called, her high-pitched voice was already bringing on a migraine. "You promised you'd help me earlier!" She looked at me. "Oh, Saige, I didn't see you there."

I shook my head and waved my hand, before beginning to massage my temples.

"I'm sorry, Saige, but—"

"It's fine. You guys go ahead and help Serra with her…stuff." I probably didn't want to know what that 'stuff' was.

Eliwood and Hector didn't even have a chance to reply or say goodbye before Serra interjected. "Thank you, Saige!" she ran up and gave me a little hug before heading back over to Hector and Eliwood, grabbing them each by the arm and dragging them out of the room. "Let's go!"

I sighed, and got back in bed, covering my face with my pillow, screwing my eyes up tight whenever the ship lurched—but at least now I knew why I was afraid. I wasn't sure that was a good or bad thing.

I felt someone—almost hesitantly—sit at the foot of my bed, just next to my calf.

There was a silence for a moment—and then the ship rose on an unusually high wave. My hands twisted themselves into the sheets as we came back down the other side. It—the storm—was getting worse.

"Are you alright, Lady Saige?"

"Why are you here, Kent?" my voice was muffled by the pillow.

"Lord Eliwood ordered me to come in and check on you." I twisted and sat up as he spoke.

"So…he was worried. It's fine, Kent. I…just have a little—" I cut off as we went up on another wave, then squeaked out as we came back down, "fear."

"What is it that you fear?"

"Deep water." I didn't even hesitate in my answer. "I am afraid of deep water, because apparently that's how my father and mother died. And I was there, I suppose. I'm not sure—Kent, you knew how I met Lyn, right?"

"I did not, Lady Saige. I only assumed you had lived with her in Sacae."

I shook my head. "No…I only met her a mere day before you found us. She found me on the plains—passed out from the heat—and I had lost all of my memories when I awoke. However, just a few minutes ago, I had a memory of what had happened before. It was a memory of being in the water—not being able to breath—our ship had sunk—and my mother had saved me and given me her circlet." I put a hand up to my forehead where it rest and I refrained from showing any sign of fear as the ship dipped again. "At least now I know why I fear deep water—I almost died via it once." I gave him a weak smile.

He didn't try to apologize and say he was sorry for me—I wasn't sure if that was tact on his part, or whether that was because at that exact moment, the entire room tilted almost ninety degrees.

In those few moments, very many things happened at once. The candle that had been lighting the entire room slid from the bedside table—which was bolted to the floorboards, thank the goddess—and off onto the floor. For a moment I was worried it'd catch the entire room on fire—a near perfect reenactment of what happened in my childhood—but my wet clothing from earlier, when I was out in the rain, slid off as well and on top of the candlestick, thankfully extinguishing it before any damage could be done. But thirdly, the sudden movement threw both Kent and I off the bed.

He slammed into the wall first—it must have hurt, as Lyn had forced her knights to stop wearing their armor around the ship, so he didn't have the heavy metal to protect his back—and then I barely caught myself before I sandwiched him to the wall.

It was pitch black—there was no light whatsoever now that the candle had been extinguished. The scent of sulfur drifted up from the wet pile of clothes that was across the room from us, near the door. I was basically on my hands and knees now—the ship was still struggling to climb up that extremely tall wave. There was a flash of fear in my stomach. What if it was too big for the ship to overcome?

And then I realized what position I must've been in. I could feel the clothing on my stomach brush up against Kent's. I felt my heart rate quicken—not all from fear. I took a deep breath for a moment—wondering what his reaction would be—before acting completely on impulse.

I leaned forward…and kissed him gently. I could feel him recoil slightly in surprise, but I didn't stop.

Then the backs of my eyelids lit up with a greenish light. I opened my eyes, slightly puzzled. How could someone have brought in a candle when the ship was tilted like this? And why would the color be green?

Kent's eyes were wide in shock—and then the ship righted itself.

We slid back onto the floor, causing us to break apart. He was too stunned to say anything, and I was too embarrassed. Why—why had I done that? I could feel my cheeks begin to heat up at the look that he was giving me—a '_what in Elibe…?_' look. Of course, he wouldn't say that out loud.

He swallowed once, then began. "Your circlet—your mother's circlet—"

"Is it—is it…glowing?"

He nodded.

"My mother—she must've been a Sage. That was why I was named Saige! And…and she was a noble…not by birth…" I didn't know where I was getting this. How could I know? Unless my memories were beginning to return. "…but by marriage. This circlet was forged for her by my father…and then she put an enchantment on it…" I stopped as the glow slowly died out and we were left in pitch black darkness.

Then the room lit up again, if only slightly.

"Lady Saige!" Sain stumbled into the room, a lit candle in his hand. "Are you—" he cut himself off as he spotted us sitting on the floor, a slight blush coloring both of our faces. A slow, knowing smile crept onto his face. "Oho! I wonder what you two were doing here in the dark! Trying to take advantage of the situation, are you?"

Kent's brow furrowed at his fellow knight's comment, "I am _not_ you."

I didn't even grace him with a glare. I clambered to my feet—struggling to keep my balance as the ship continued to heave—and then launched myself at Sain, who took off through the group of bedrooms, cackling madly.

I heard Eliwood say, presumably to Hector, "I wonder what he's gone and said now." And Hector chuckled at his comment. Oh, if only they knew. This was going to be a long passage to the Dread Isle.


	10. Chapter 9: Ninian

**A/N: So I decided to put this up too, since I've been updating twice a day lately.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FIRE EMBLEM.**

Chapter 9—Ninian

_Fargus' ship sails along the rest of the way smoothly. At last, they spot a fog-enshrouded isle on the horizon. Eliwood's father is on the isle, as is the Dragon's Gate. As they draw closer to the isle, Eliwood no longer fears that his father might be one of the conspirators. As the moment of truth nears, Eliwood only prays that he is safe._

_~Lord Eliwood~_

"Ahoy, laddie! You don't get seasick, do you?" Captain Fargus addressed Eliwood.

"I'm fine, sir. This is a beautiful ship."

Fargus guffawed at his praise of the ship, "For a sea rover, eh?

"May I ask you a question?"

"What is it?"

"Why did you agree to give us passage? When we said that we wished to travel to Valor, the people in the harbor treated us as though we were mad."

"I'm sure they did. It is the Dread Isle, after all. If not for good reason, we wouldn't want to go either."

"And yet… you've given us free passage. Why is that?"

"Listen to me, laddie. Men are strange beasts. We can't resist a challenge. Something appears on the horizon, and we immediately set sail. Some dreams we conquer, others we abandon. …I've grown old. I haven't had a good challenge in many a year. Then you mooncalves appear seeking passage to the Dread Isle. I was impressed with your courage. I think you may be the ones to survive the Dread Isle."

"We won't disappoint you. We will return."

"All right. Then we'll weigh anchor and wait for you. Light a signal fire when you want to return, and we'll pick you up."

"Thank you."

"Captain! There's a dory adrift to port! It looks like there's someone aboard. What're your orders?" that same pirate who had challenged them at the docks—he had been introduced as 'Dart'—called out to Captain Fargus.

"Bring 'em aboard. Looks like we've got a visitor. Odd though, finding a boat adrift near here…"

"Odd? Why is that?" Eliwood asked.

"The sea currents in this area… Anything drifting around here must've come from the Dread Isle."

"Oh…"

"Shall we greet our guest?"

_~Saige~_

"Eliwood! You done talking to old man Fargus?" Hector called out to Eliwood.

"You saw us?" he looked at both me and Hector.

"No, I heard you'd gone off with him. You learn anything?"

"...We can trust him. We got lucky, finding him."

"Hmmm. If you say so."

"Hey, you three! Come here! They've pulled the dory aboard! I wonder who's on board." Lyn called out to us as she went over to it. "It's... It's a girl!

"...Uh...uhnn..." Dart was mumbling, seeming awkward. "Oy! You there!"

"Me?" Lyn asked, looking startled.

"Give me a hand, will you? I don't know where to... grab her."

"...Okay…"

"Such the gentleman." I laughed at Hector's comment.

"Stow it!" Dart said as he threw a glare our way.

"Hm?" she looked down at the girl, before recognition slowly crossed her face. "Ninian! Ninian! Wake up!"

I raised my eyebrows, rushing over. How had she ended up here?

"Unbelievable... What are the chances?" Eliwood soon drew up alongside of us.

"Do you know her?" Hector asked.

"She's how Lyndis, Saige, and I met a year back. I rescued Ninian from the Black Fang."

"Please, Ninian! Open your eyes!" Lyn shook Ninian.

The girl moaned at the abuse.

"Ninian, can you hear me?"

"...Unnn... I..."

"Are you well? Why were you on that boat? Where is Nils? Why wasn't he with you?"

"... Ah...ah..."

"Ninian?"

"Lyndis, something's wrong with her." I looked at Eliwood, alarmed. But I knew he had to be right.

"Who... Who..." Ninian looked confused.

Across the deck from us, Dart called out to Fargus, "Captain! Pirate ships approaching from the northwest!"

"Do they dare attack Captain Fargus and the Davros? They must be mad!"

"What flag are they flying? I've never seen that pattern before." Dart stated.

"These seas belong to us! Whoever they are, they're in our waters! This is a day for strange occurrences, it seems. You whelps watch you own hides. We've no time to waste on you!" Fargus said to us.

One of the pirates came from below decks, yelling. "Water! The hull's been breached! We're taking on water!" Fear made my stomach lurch once again.

"Breached? That scum is more dangerous than I'd thought!"

"It's bad, Captain! We need all hands below decks, or we'll sink!" Dart came up as well.

"Take care of it! I'm going to carve these scallywags some new gizzards!"

"We need your help! The water's up to the galley! You must come below, Captain!"

"Grrr..." Fargus growled out.

"Fargus! Leave the enemy to us!" Eliwood said.

"Fighting is something we're good at! But a sinking ship? That's your affair! You have to do something, or we'll all drown!" fear stirred in my stomach as Hector spoke.

"We'll deal with things up here. Please! Hurry!"

"Fine! The deck is yours! I'll be back as soon as we've plugged the breach in the hull!"

Captain Fargus rushed down the stairs to help with the water.

"Lyn! Take her to that room!" Eliwood spoke to Lyn, and indicating Ninian with a finger, and then pointing to one of the rooms near the stairs—the captain's quarters, I would think?

"I will."

"Here they come!" Hector had grabbed his axe quickly during the commotion.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Ahoy! I'm back!" Fargus shouted as he raced up from below. "Now, who wants to die first?" he looked around at the bodies, the dying Black Fang, and the three sinking ships that surrounded us. "What's this? You've routed 'em already? Nicely done, whelps!"

"Those sea dogs were no match for us!" Hector said.

"Ah! Ninian!" Lyn exclaimed at Ninian poked her head out of the captain's room. "You can't come out yet! There's blood everywhere!"

"...Blood?" She stepped out, regardless, but slipped on a patch of the said liquid.

"Look out!" Eliwood, who was closest, quickly caught her.

"...Ah! I'm sorry."

"Are you okay? Ninian?"

"Ninian? Is that... me?" she slowly began. "Is that... my name?"

"Ninian! What's happened to you..." Lyn trailed off.

"...I... My head... is so foggy. Am I... at sea?"

"Yes. We found you adrift in a small boat."

"She must have amnesia." I said, feeling a sense of déjà vu. "Just like I did…except worse."

"That scum was after the girl, it seems. Will you take her with you? The men are afraid she, well, she might be cursed, you know?" Fargus came up to us where we were crowded around Ninian.

"Cursed...?"

"Are you suggesting we leave Ninian behind?" Lyn was absolutely opposed to the idea.

"We can't take her with us, can we? We're heading for the Dread Isle. It's dread for a reason, you know!" Hector said.

"Regardless... she goes with us!"

"Well, we can't exactly leave her back in that boat and continue, can we?" I said.

Eliwood turned his attention to Ninian. "We're all going to that island. Will you come with us?"

"Yes... Please... take me with you."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Heave!" at that moment, all of the five pirates—Dart was one of them—pulled on the rope, succeeding in lifting the horse—Priscilla's horse, to be exact—about a foot off of the deck. They were using a makeshift sling—it was made out of one of the sails that had torn during the storm.

"Heave!" they pulled again, gaining another foot.

"Um…" I glanced at Hector, who was watching beside me. "Maybe you should help?"

"Heave!"

"Don't you think this is more amusing?"

"Heave!"

"Shut your mouth!" Dart snarled at him.

"Dart doesn't think so." I muttered. "Besides, we could be here all day at this rate."

Hector seemed to concede this point, and grabbed the rope in two hands.

"Heave!" Priscilla's horse neighed nervously, as it had suddenly shot up three feet, instead of one.

I grinned as Dart gave Hector an '_I'm gonna kill you_' glare.

"Saige!" I turned as Lyn came up behind me. "They've got our dory down in the water and ready. Kent's horse is already in the water as well." I knew that already—it had taken the men an entire hour to get him up and over the side of the boat.

I nodded—I had everything I needed: my dagger was on my belt, my green cape was clasped around my neck, and my mother's circlet was on my head. "Alright—I suppose I'm no help here anyways…let's go."

I few minutes later—after we'd navigated the deck that was bustling with busy sailors—we were at the side of the ship, staring down through the thick fog. I couldn't even see the dory, it was so dense.

I cleared my throat as nervousness suddenly ate at my stomach. "You go first, Lyn. I'll be right behind you."

She nodded, grabbed the rope, and threw herself over the side. For a moment I thought she had just slid down, but her head soon poked up over the side again. "Thought I'd jumped, didn't you?"

I laughed nervously. "Heh…heh…yeah, I did." But my words were more to myself, as she was already climbing down.

After a few moments, there was a dull thud from below. "Okay!" she called up. "You can come down now! Just get a good grip on the rope, and climb down!"

"Just a second!" I slipped off my mother's circlet and tucked it into a pouch at my waist—I didn't want to lose it in the water if it slipped off.

I reluctantly grabbed the rope, and thought I might do it the way Lyn had, by throwing myself over the edge. Bad move—I slid a foot before my hands found purchase on the slippery rope again. I could see nothing through the fog, but I could imagine—and hear—the waves lapping at the side of the ship below. My world spun dizzyingly.

The only thing I could really see now were my hands—they were turning white from my firm grip. Well, objective one accomplished—grab the rope. Now for objective two—climb down into the unknown.

"Saige?" I could hear Lyn's hesitant voice below. Far below—perhaps ten yards below?

"I'm…fine!" my voice sounded strangled, even to my own ears.

I began to climb down the rope—as hurriedly as I could manage, thinking about how quickly Lyndis had done it—and about ten feet down, my fingers were already beginning to numb. It was cold—freezing cold, really—down here in the fog. And the rope was wet—some of the moisture had condensed on it.

"Saige, are you alright?" Lyn had taken to calling up every other minute, to which I replied in a shaking voice each time, "Yes, I'm okay!"

Fifteen feet down the rope—I was completely enshrouded in fog now—I couldn't see the deck above, or the dory below me. I paused for a moments respite—I knew I was taking twice as long as Lyn had, but she was more athletic and wasn't afraid of water.

Then, once I started up again, it happened. The rope had become slick—with ice.

I let out a repressed yelp as my fingers slipped.

"Ahhhhh!" I fell—I was sure I was going to end up in the water—with my eyes squeezed tightly shut.

And then an _oof_; someone caught me. I opened one eye—to look and see if I was dead yet—and saw Lyn's worried face above me. Kent had been the one who had caught me—it was foolish of me to think that maybe it was Lyn…haha…

"Lady Saige, you really should've been more careful." He told me as he set me down.

"Sorry." I said quietly, a slow blush coming to my cheeks as I remember that night in the storm—we hadn't spoken about it since. "There was ice on the rope."

"Lady Saige!" I heard Sain call from above. "Are you alright?"

"No need to worry, Sain. Kent caught her!" Lyn shouted up.

I put a hand up to my face—I could already feel more heat rising in my cheeks—as Sain laughed above. "I'm sure he did!"

My voice was venomous. "Oh, shut your mouth, Sain!"


	11. Chapter 10: The Dread Isle

**A/N: So these updates may slow a little bit—I've almost blown completely through all of the already-written chapters in little under a week, and this upcoming week is semester finals, but I'll try to update quickly. To Tom-Ato13: About Eliwood—he's going to get a little more love later, since the story is going to have my own, extra chapters. And I agree about Sain—I thought it'd be kinda fun to have him tease Kent about Saige. To everyone else who has reviewed—I thank you so, so much. It makes me feel so happy that you enjoy my story. ^.^**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FIRE EMBLEM.**

Chapter 10—The Dread Isle

"We've arrived." Fargus said as we finally reached shore. My butt was sore from sitting in that position on the hard, cold wood for a little over a half an hour.

"Thank you very much." Eliwood said.

"We'll wait two weeks. Finish up by then."

"That's more than enough time!" Hector said.

"And I've got a half-wit sailor who wants to go sightseeing. C'mere, Dart!"

"I'm here, Captain! Ready to serve!" Dart stepped up.

"We're pleased to have you." Eliwood said.

I snickered, remembering earlier. Dart shot me a look.

"His only redeeming feature is his sturdiness. Maybe he'll come in handy."

"I'm sure he will." I muttered.

"Come on, Captain! I'm better'n that!"

"You've done so much. I can't thank you enough..." Eliwood trailed off.

"Come back alive!" he shouted to us as he pushed off the beach. "That's all the thanks I need."

"All right. Farewell!"

"We'll be back before you know it!" Hector yelled to him as Captain Fargus and his men rowed further out of the bay.

"...There are good people, even among pirates." Lyn admitted.

"I don't think the old man and his group are your average pirates." Hector said to her.

"Somewhere within that forest is the Dragon's Gate." Eliwood gazed toward the tree line with a look that was somewhere between apprehension and relief.

"Eliwood! No matter what it takes, we're coming back with your father!" Hector grasped him by the shoulder.

"...We'll surely find him. We'll all do our best to make it so." Lyn said.

"You're right. Let's make preparations to enter the forest."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_Sploosh_! There was a loud sound of sloshing water and Kent shouting at someone. I looked up from where I perched on a rock—one of Oswin's lances held in one hand as I searched for fish in the water.

"Sain!" I shouted, standing up and striding over to where he was bent over, laughing.

"Yes, Lady Saige?"

"One," I held up a finger. "leave Kent alone if you want to eat dinner," Sain had apparently thought it funny to come up behind Kent while he was trying to spear a fish, and shove him into the water. I added a second finger to the first, "Two, you're scaring away all of the fish!"

Sain calmed himself, "I apologize." But the corners of his mouth were still curled up as Kent pulled himself up and out of the water.

"It's fine. Just…go away."

"Ohhhh…so you want some alone time." He winked at me.

"Graaaaagh!" I went berserk and slapped him across the face, hard.

He put his hand up to his cheek—where a red mark was beginning to rise.

I could feel my anger wane, if only a little. "Go…away…" I said slowly, my eyes narrowed.

Sain held up his hands—the red handprint was making it seem almost comical. "Alright! No need to hit me!"

I shook my head as he made a timely retreat. "Well, you might as well get back to fishing…he's gone."

"I don't understand how he listens to you. Nothing I say even affects him."

I laughed quietly. "You also don't slap him as hard as you can on the side of the head. Otherwise, he doesn't hear a word I say. It goes in one ear and out the other. Honestly, Kent. I think you're doing the best you can to make him into a respectable knight, but he's so…stubborn and…and…"

"Ignorant?"

"That's exactly the word I was looking for. I'm sure he'll become more…mature…with age, though. You'll only have to suffer for a few more years." I looked over at him. His countenance was stoic, as ever. "Kent…he's right in one thing though. You're too serious sometimes. Have you ever even…thought about smiling?" Where was this coming from? Kent was fine the way he was—we already had too much of Sain's antics.

He didn't reply to this.

"I mean—I'm sorry, Kent. I didn't mean that." I looked back down at the water—which was becoming a bloody red color from the sun—it was beginning to set. "I understand that you take your duty seriously. It's better that way, I suppose. Look," I quickly changed the subject—we really should've have caught something by now. "You're not fishing right—you're already being still, but you're leaning too far over the edge…" I pulled him back a bit. "You can't let your shadow fall on the water; otherwise the fish will see and avoid it."

"How do you know this?"

"I've read a bit in my time." I gave a small smile. "I assume my mother's library must've been huge…" I looked up to the clouds that were surrounding the sun—they were also the bright red color of fire, as if to remind me of my memory.

"Ahh!" a loud scream rang out over the beach. I was on my feet in an instant, Oswin's lance held awkwardly in my hand. "It hurts!" I recognized Serra's whine, but I ran over anyway. She sat on the ground next to a tide pool, cradling her hand, with tears welling in her eyes.

She looked up and saw me, and started talking in a flurry of words. "I was looking in the pool—and I saw a pretty looking flower-type thingy—and I reached down into the water to touch it—and it—it stung me!"

I was stunned for a moment, but quickly went down on my hands and knees next to the tide pool. "Which one?"

She pointed with her uninjured hand to a small flower-looking creature that was near the edge of the pool—it was the same pale pink color as Serra's curls. I studied it for a second as Kent kneeled next to Serra.

"It's going numb!" she exclaimed.

I slowly took the base of Oswin's lance and gently touched the middle of the small creature. The tentacles contracted around the wood—I pulled the lance back out and set it by the waterside. "Well…" I turned to Kent and Serra—everyone else was beginning to arrive; we'd been the closest to her. "Best I can tell…that's a sea anemone."

"An…ane-ani-" Serra tried to pronounce it.

"Anemone. It will sting you when you touch it—as a self-defense against predators—and inject a poison."

"Poison?" her voice went up an entire octave—a whole new level of pain for my ears.

I massaged my temples—"It's not lethal—not anywhere near it. You should barely even feel it—the most you'll have is it becoming numb."

I sighed, looking over at Priscilla, who arrived a few moments before. "It'll do nothing if you try to treat it with your mend staff. I'd suggest maybe trying vinegar— and then wrapping it up. The pain shouldn't last too long, but the vinegar will take away whatever toxin lingers."

I stood back up—Eliwood came up next to me. "What happened?"

I chuckled as quietly as possible. "She got stung by a sea anemone."

He opened his mouth, looking worried, but I held up a hand to halt his speech. "It's not lethal…it should just make her finger numb for an hour or so."

"What was her scream for, then?"

"Well…you know Serra. She tends to make things a little dramatic."


	12. Chapter 11: The Dragon's Gate

**A/N: I have to say that this chapter is insanely long. If I were to guess, based on the word count…about seven times longer than most of the chapters so far? Anyway, this chapter gets a bit more serious than the past few have been—since the crap hits the fan here. To MilleniaMaster: I'm glad you liked that part! I thought it'd be kinda interesting to include something...relitively normal. And yes, I think we will see a little bit more of Saige losing her temper with Sain. :P To Pharkar: I could understand your review, but if you speak Spanish well, then you should go ahead and write your reviews in Spanish. **

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FIRE EMBLEM.**

Chapter 11—Dragon's Gate

"And then…he skinned 'em alive and ate them for his evening meal!" I said.

Ninian gasped and put a hand over her mouth, looking horrified.

I looked over at her and smiled, the glow from the fire completing the look. Perhaps I hadn't been able to fight, but I certainly could provide entertainment. Before, when I was studying to be a tactician, I must've read quite a few books. I had an endless archive of stories and facts hiding away in my mind.

"Anyone else?" I asked, looking around our circle.

Slowly, Dorcas spoke from where he sat with Bartre. "Tell us a story about…the Scouring."

"Do you want the classic story, or…something far less widely known?"

"We've all heard the story told a million times…why don't you tell us something new."

"I have just the tale…" I trailed off, recalling all of the details, before starting. "Dragons and men fought in a war known as the Scouring. There were the well-known heroes—Hartmut, St. Elimine, the horseman Hanon, the knight Barigan, the berserker Durban, the archsage Athos and the champion Roland…"

"We already know this!"

"Yes, yes, I know! I'm getting to it!" I snapped. "…and then there were the heroes who weren't known as well—but who were no less noble. There was Kerryn, who led the mercenary company the Silver Consortium. She was a supreme master of the sword—none could match her skill with a blade. Then was her tactician, Desirae—a powerful Wind Sage. Railin's trade was in the shadows—an Assassin. Armani was a Light Sage of the highest order. Sol was a Swordsmaster whose speed and accuracy were deadly. Seraph could heal almost any wound—she could cure anything short of death."

"Oh, this is nothing but nonsense. The Silver Consortium sound greater than the seven heroes themselves! These people never existed—we would've known about them!"

I sighed, and put my head in my hand. "Okay….so what do you want to hear about then, if not that?"

"Why don't you tell us a tale or two about the battles you fought with Lyn?"

I chuckled. "Really? Well, there was this one time where Sain couldn't land a single blow on a bandit and it almost cost me my life—"

"I have apologized a hundred times before Lady Saige! The trees were slowing me down!" Sain quickly interjected, then a smirk slipped onto his face. "Of course, your knight in shining armor, Kent, saved you that time too."

I shot him a death look, before continuing as though he'd never spoken. "—but it wouldn't be very exciting, seeing that you all know I survived." I paused, thinking a moment. "I could tell you the story of how Lady Lyn earned the Mani Katti."

I shifted, trying to get into a comfortable position on the log—which clearly wasn't going to happen—and began my story. "This was back when it was just me, Lyn, Kent, and Sain. Just after we first discovered that Lyn's granduncle was trying to kill her, Lady Lyn had suggested that we go to the local shrine to gain the blessing of the spirits there. However, when we had come upon the temple, it was being attacked by bandits. Their leader—Glass—had come to steal the legendary spirit sword known as the Mani Katti. The priest—or the keeper of the shrine—warned him that he would not be able to even draw the blade from its sheath. There were spirits guarding the blade, you see. Only once you were chosen by these spirits would you be able to use it." I drew a deep breath. "So Glass tried to pull it from its sheath, but it would not budge. Angered by this, he vowed to tear down the temple stone by stone."

"How do you know this? You were with us the entire time." Kent asked.

I shrugged. "I asked the priest afterwards why the bandits had attacked. I had assumed it was because of the Mani Katti, but I wanted confirmation. One of the women in the nearby village told us that there was a wall in the side of the temple that was weak, and worn down, so I—we, I mean," I corrected myself, casting a glance at the rest of our group. "used this information to our advantage. Fighting the bandits that were surrounding the building, we made it to this wall, and bashed a hole through the stone big enough for Lyn and I to fit through. Kent and Sain stayed behind outside, keeping watch so that we wouldn't be trapped inside. We had been lucky too: the hole in the wall lead right into the inner chamber where the Mani Katti was kept. There, standing before the pedestal was Glass, frustrated and still trying to get the sword to work for him. And of course, Lyn—being the brave woman she is," I looked to her with a small smile curving up the side of my mouth, "charged right at him with her old iron sword."

"You told me—"

"Oh, no. Don't you pin it on me." I said, the smile threatening to grow exponentially. "You were too caught up in your idea of Sacaen justice to listen to my advice for how to go about the battle. Yes, you ran right in there with your sword drawn." I spoke to her alone, and then the group as a whole. "Anyway, she traded blows with him for a minute or so, and then she did the most fantastic move I've seen anyone execute in swordplay. She leaped clear over his head, and drove her blade into his back. I—personally—wished that I was that acrobatic at the time, I remember. After the bandits had realized that their leader was dead, they fled back into the mountains—without any of us having to lay a finger on them. We found that poor priest locked in a small cellar that led off from the Mani Katti's chamber—he allowed Lyn to lay her hands on the spirit blade and ask for a blessing, but as soon as she touched it, the sword seemed to light up." I glanced over at the Mani Katti where it hung at Lyn's hip, but the blade was as dull as a normal sword. "He told us that it had seen into her soul, judged her, and now was calling out to her. Lyn was doubtful at first, but the priest said to attempt to draw it from its sheath to prove it."

"It came out easily…" Lyn put in.

"I don't believe all of this nonsense about spirits. There's simply no such thing!"

I smiled humorlessly at Dart, and spoke to Lyn, "Might you hand it here?"

Where one would normally be reluctant to give up such a precious artifact, she unstrapped it from her belt with little hesitation and placed the hilt in my hand.

"Now, I may not wield a sword, but I know how to draw one from its sheath." I began as I gripped the sheath with my other hand. "And yet," I said as I pulled with all my might. "it will not come free."

"How am I supposed to know that you're not faking it?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Fine. I'll give it to Kent. You know he would not lie." I said this statement with boldness—knowing Lady Lyndis would mind having Kent handle the blade just about as much as she had me.

"Hmph. No need—I believe you."

"So it was a test?" my voice was low.

"Of sorts."

I shook my head at his nonsense—what was the point of testing me, anyhow?

After this everyone was quiet, all looking at me to finish my original story.

"And that was how the Mani Katti," I handed it back. "came to be in the possession of Lady Lyndis." Bartre opened his mouth to speak again, but I held up a hand to stop him. "Don't you think we should rest?" the moon was high in the sky by now. "We don't know when or where the Black Fang will strike next…we should be rested, especially since we'll be delving deeper into their territory tomorrow morning…"

"Lady Saige is right." Eliwood stood. "Who's going to keep first watch?"

No one stood up immediately, so I ventured, "Why don't I?" After all, I was going to be staying up later than everyone else anyways.

"You need to be able to strategize—"

"Yes. And I'm going to stay up later either way, whether it be on guard or in my bedroll."

A pause, "Very well. Second watch?"

Even though there were twenty or so of us in the group, of course no one wanted to stay up late and stare into the darkness.

"I will be second, Lord Eliwood." And of course, the first one to volunteer would be Kent.

"And third?"

Marcus stood with a sigh. "Milord."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

I pulled my dagger, along with its sheath, off my belt. Where did this come from? I had been quizzing myself for the past quarter-fortnight; I was trying to trigger memories again—but it hadn't been working. When I had asked Priscilla why I had gotten one back, but not any of the others, she simply assured me that they'd return in time.

Time wasn't moving fast enough.

Did someone give it to me? Did I find it? Did I steal it?

"Come _on_." I said quietly—the rest of the group was sleeping; it wouldn't do to wake any of them up.

And then it happened—another memory struck. Except this one was more complete.

_I was lying on sand…was I in the desert? A beach?_

_My eyes shot open as a rush of cold water washed over my feet—definitely a beach._

_There were broken shells in the sand beneath me—my stomach was beginning to ache from the sharp edges. The sun was beating down on my back—searing through even my heavy wet cape and clothing. My bare arms would be horribly sunburnt. My stomach felt as though it was eating itself—as though I hadn't eaten in days. A large wooden board lay on the sand next to me, along with several other splinters of some large vessel—most likely a ship, but I couldn't recall anything. My throat was sore—I must've swallowed a little seawater. My tongue was so dry it felt like sandpaper—though I had luckily had my mouth closed, so I didn't actually get any sand in it, and I must have been dehydrated._

"_Huh?" a shadow fell over me. "Hey! Are you alright?"_

_I felt myself be rolled over, and the bright sunlight blinded me for a moment._

"_Wake up!" I was shaken, roughly, making the splinters, cuts, and the sunburn that I no doubt had hurt a lot worse._

_I groaned, squinting up at my assailant. All I could see past the sunlight was a silhouette. _

"_No need to shake me…" I coughed—I think I had water in my lungs—"It…already hurts bad enough."_

"_Oh! I'm sorry!" my attacker/potential savior seemed to fumble around with something on their belt. "Here, drink this." A canteen was lifted to my dry and cracked lips._

"_Ugh…hold on…" I managed to flip back over, and made myself cough up the seawater that was in my lungs. That made my throat burn even worse than it already had been, but at least that was taken care of._

_I drank greedily from the canteen when it was offered to me again, but I realized almost too late that perhaps this stranger needed the water just as much as I—after all, one didn't just walk around with a canteen on them unless they were traveling a distance that would take more than a few hours._

_I pushed the canteen away from my mouth after I grasped this. "Don't waste all of your water on me."_

"_You need it more than I do." It was pressed back to my lips, but I moved back._

_I was glad my eyes were finally beginning to adjust to the light—I could now see my savior. It was a young boy; my age. My grey eyes locked onto his amber ones. His hair was the most peculiar color of…orange? I didn't think I'd ever encountered that before._

"_No…I need…" I glanced down at my forearms—they were as red and burnt as I had expected—blistered in some places. "treatment for this and food…and…" I glanced up at the boy, who was listening intently. "I mean…I could find it myself…"_

"_Hold on, I'll go get father!" _

"_No—" but before I could stop him he was already racing up over the dunes—to a man._

"_Kent?" I could hear the questioning voice even from here. "What—"_

"Lady Saige?"

I jerked back into reality—that memory—

Then I realized who had spoken. "Your turn already, Kent?"

"Not for another few minutes, but you didn't wake me…"

I glanced up to the moon—how could he tell how many minutes it was until his watch? It looked the same to me as the time when I should've gone to sleep, but I took his word for it and didn't head back to my bedroll.

For the moment, all thoughts of the memory I just had were banished from my mind. "Kent…about what happened on the ship…I apologize. I should not have done that, seeing that I know that…" I paused, before pushing on. "Kent, you still have feelings for Lyn, don't you?"

There was silence for a moment. "Lady Saige, I'm sorr—"

"No. No, it's fine. I understand." I struggled to swallow the lump that was slowly forming in my throat. "Looks like it's time for your watch anyways…heh heh!" the last part—the laugh—sounded fake even to my ears.

"Lady Saige…"

But I had already turned—my cape fluttering behind me—and was walking at a brisk pace away from him.

I removed my dagger as I settled down into my bedroll, and set it near enough to grab at a moment's notice. I lay down, hugging the blankets and my cape tightly around me. But finally, once I rested my head on the pillow, I couldn't help the tears that sprang to the corners of my eyes.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_~Dragon's Gate~_

"Shame on you, Marquess Pherae. You freed the boy _and_ the girl?" the tanned, older man spoke.

"I will not let you move unopposed!" the red-haired man looked furious and defiant.

"Wh-What shall we do, Lord Nergal?" Lord Darin stumbled over his words. "With both siblings gone, we can no longer hold the ceremony."

"How many times must I tell you, Lord Darin? You are being used by this man! By helping him bring dragons back into this world, you are helping him destroy mankind! Do you understand?" Marquess Pherae exclaimed.

Lord Darin chuckled at the Marquess, "Destroy mankind? Dragons may have been a threat to mankind in ages past, but with Lord Nergal's power, we've got nothing to fear! Lord Nergal can control dragons!" he resumed cackling.

"Lord Darin... You're already lost."

Nergal started speaking again, "I'd planned to start a war in Lycia. The war I was plotting in Lycia would've generated a glorious amount of force in one blow. You were not equal to the task, it seems. Not to worry. I've other means at hand."

"Black hearted fiends!" Marquess Pherae exclaimed.

"Hold your tongue. There is still a task you must perform for me. Ephidel! Limstella! My beloved morphs, my beauteous works of art. I've new jobs for you, my pets. First Limstella. You will go to Bern and contact Sonia. I want you to arrange a meeting with the king."

"Understood." Limstella inclined her head in respect to Nergal.

"Ephidel, take this... man, Marquess Laus, and go. I want you to exterminate the mice who've landed on the island."

"Yes, master."

"That leaves you, Marquess Pherae. It seems your legacy is one of endurance." Marquess Pherae seemed both alarmed and confused. "...The mouse who interfered with my conquest of Lycia is named Eliwood. Should he be congratulated on making it this far?"

"Eliwood? My son is here? Stop! Do with me what you will, but let my son be!"

"Hm? Heh..." he broke out into evil laughter. "Remember the siblings you freed? The girl's here, too. As a matter of fact, she's with your son, Eliwood. Quite a delicious twist of fate, wouldn't you say?"

"...This can't be..."

"Eliwood will die in these woods. The girl will be returned to me, and the ceremony will take place. Hm...Despite those long hours of torture, you remain undaunted. Such courage will make you the perfect sacrifice, Marquess Pherae."

"Eliwood...Turn back...Take the girl and flee...Please..." Marquess Pherae said quietly, to himself, and whatever gods were listening.

Meanwhile, the shadow behind one of the pillars shifted.

"I can't believe it's come to this. I must inform Lord Hector of these events...If I hurry, I may be in time." Leila began to sneak off as Lord Nergal left, "What!"

Ephidel seemed to materialize before her, "Leila...Where are you going?"

"Lord Ephidel...The sentries...I'm going to check on..."

"You overheard, did you not?...And I had such hopes for you. Jaffar!"

Flashing out of the darkness, a silver dagger embedded itself in Leila's back.

"Ah—ah…"

A man appeared out of the shadows, "The punishment for traitors is death."

"Ah...Ma...Matthew..." Leila sank to her knees, the light in her eyes already dimming.

"...Impressive, Jaffar. Your power is beyond compare." Ephidel barely even glanced at Leila, "Take this woman's corpse and leave it in the forest. Let it serve as a warning to those fools."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_~Valor Isle~_

"Let's get through these woods. It's starting to get foggy...Try not to get separated." Lyn ventured forward a few steps ahead of the others.

"'Enter and be lost.' It feels like we're not coming back." Hector said, his voice grim.

"Hector!" Lyn exclaimed, "Are you trying to curse us?"

"Someone's there!" Eliwood suddenly said, taking a couple of steps back.

"Who? A sentry?" Hector looked closer, "Leila! Is that you? Impressive work, finding your way here!"

When no one replied, Eliwood stepped forward, "Something's wrong…Leila? Lei-!

"She's... dead..." Lyn said, looking horrified at the massive amount of crimson liquid that was staining the back of the spy's clothing.

"...This can't be. She was one of our best spies, Leila..." Hector trailed off.

Matthew, who had been silent this whole time, simply looked at the ground.

"...I'm sorry, Matthew." Hector turned to him.

"...Why do you apologize, my lord? Leila blundered...That's all."

"Matthew...Leila was…She was..." Eliwood couldn't find the right words.

"After his mission, I was going to ask here to put this life behind her...Waited too long, didn't I?" he still wouldn't meet any of their eyes, "Ha...My lord, might I...rejoin you later? She has to be buried..." Matthew said as he scooped up her body in his arms—seeming far gentler than he ever had before.

"...Of course." Hector said.

"Ah...I'll go with you..." Lyn started to go after him, but Eliwood stopped her.

"...Let them be alone. There's nothing else we can do..."

"Blast! They put her out here for us to find like this!" Hector exclaimed.

"Unforgivable! This is...a foul deed. Beyond foul." Lyn glanced back to where Matthew had vanished into the fog.

"Let's go. The foe is somewhere in this forest. We must stop this before any more die!"

_~Saige~_

"Did you have a fight with Lady Saige?" Sain was taunting Kent this morning ever since he had seen the bags underneath my eyes, and my indifferent demeanor towards the Cavalier. It hadn't been a good morning—I had woken up in the midst of the swirling white fog, my back aching from the hard ground and shivering with the cold. Lyn, Hector, and Eliwood had come back earlier, carrying news of Leila's death and announcing that we were to leave by midday.

"What did you do to her? She looks like—"

Finally I'd had enough. I slammed my spoon back down into my bowl with a loud clatter and said furiously, my voice dripping with venom, "You do realize that I can hear you?" I felt like hitting him again. "Don't speak of things you don't understand in the slightest, Sain!"

I calmed myself down a little as I received startled looks from the rest of our group, but my hand flew to the hilt of my dagger as Ninian suddenly stood and called out, "Ah!...Beware! Something comes!"

"What!" Lyn was the first one to get up, just as a figure rose out of the mist. "Agh!"

There was a man—clearly a Sacaen plainsman—who had Lyn at his complete mercy, with a knife to her throat.

"Lyndis!" Eliwood leaped up, unsheathing his rapier in a swift movement.

"If you value her life, send the girl to me." The man's voice was threatening.

"...Ah." Ninian looked at the ground.

"You, you're Sacaen!" Lyn exclaimed, trying to look over her shoulder at him.

"That's correct...I am Uhai of the Black Fang. I've been sent to capture the girl...And to kill the lot of you. If, however...you hand over the girl and depart the island at once, I'll grant you your lives."

"And if we refuse?"

"You know nothing, little lord. Nothing of Nergal's might. Nothing of his terrible power. You are ignorant, and so you hope to oppose him. You are insects railing against the heaven. Your actions will change nothing. Speak no more foolishness and begone!"

"...Maybe we don't know what it is we're fighting...But if we flee, our loss is assured. So we will continue to struggle, and we may yet prevail!" Eliwood said.

"...Folly." Uhai released Lyn and pushed her to Eliwood, who quickly pulled her behind him.

"What! Why are you letting me go?" Lyn asked.

"Holding a woman hostage during battle is shameful. You, too, are of Sacae, and I've a mind to show you mercy. I will let you die with a sword in your hands. But rest assured... I will kill you all here. But be of good cheer! In dying, you shall all be spared the calamity that is to come!"

"Ninian, you must hide. We will meet the enemy!" Eliwood said to Ninian, before turning to me, even though I still had a half-full bowl of soup in my hand. "Saige, we can't see much in this fog…but…"

I nodded as I set the bowl down. I was half-watching as Matthew returned from out of the fog and began to rapidly speak to Lord Hector, "Of course, I will attempt to strategize."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_~Lord Eliwood~_

"Well...done... You are... stronger... stronger than I expected." Uhai forced out, despite the gaping wound from Hector's axe that was in his side, "Out of respect... ...a final gift from me... From here, go south...Turn at the rotted tree. Head... west. There lays the path to the...Dragon's Gate..." he finished with his last breath.

"Uhai... I wish we could've met under different circumstances." Eliwood looked down at the corpse of his enemy.

"...Do we trust him?" Hector asked.

"He was a Sacaen. He would not lie. ...I, at least, choose to believe him." Lyn said.

"...Lets go then."

"To the Dragon's Gate!"

_With Uhai's dying words still sounding in their ears, they venture deep into the forest's heart. Lyn moves in utmost silence, cautious not to alert any hidden enemy. However, following on her path, a new Black Fang shadow appears._

_~Lord Eliwood~_

"A great, rotted tree. This would appear to be the place of which Uhai spoke." Eliwood said as he looked up at the towering tree—there were no leaves on it, and it was indeed rotting slowly.

"Lord Eliwood, are you well? You have a pallid look about you..." Marcus forced his horse to come closer to Eliwood and the tree—which it seemed to find unsettling for some reason.

"...Oh, it's you, Marcus." Eliwood barely glanced at him.

"Is something amiss?"

"You heard what Erik said when we were in Laus, Marcus... What do you think?"

"That Lord Elbert was involved in a rebellion plot?"

"Yes."

"It must be a mistake. Your father is loyal to Lycia. He'd never break his oath."

"You're right. I can't believe he'd be involved in this conspiracy." He paused, seeming to think about something. "Yet... why do I feel so anxious? When I think of my father, I can't catch my breath."

"Lord Eliwood, do not mistake your feelings. That feeling that strikes you when you think of Lord Elbert? It springs not from a distrustful heart. It comes from concern for your father, who needs your help. He is involved in something larger than all of us. This is all happening so fast; it's easy to lose sight of that."

"I see... You... You're right. ...Thank you, Marcus. I feel a bit better."

"I'm glad to be of service." Marcus took a deep breath, but quickly shook his head. "Bah. The air on this accursed isle... It's disquieting."

"...It feeds the despair already lurking in our hearts. If you hadn't been here for me, Marcus, I—" he cut himself off at the sound of shouting—it was broken into two voices, one male and one female.

"Eh? Something is happening ahead." Marcus said, but Eliwood was already headed in that direction.

"It's Hector. Let's go!"

_~Saige~_

"Stop yelling at me! It's because of that clattering armor you're wearing! I'm just saying we have to move cautiously. Nothing more!" Lyn shouted at Hector.

"I know! And I'm saying that I'm doing my best!"

"Stop it!" I said, pushing myself in between the two of them, holding them both at arm's length.

"Quiet, both of you! Armor or no, if you two keep shouting like that, every enemy from here to Pherae itself will hear us!" Eliwood burst onto the scene, speaking reason—I was thankful that he had come in. If not, who knows what might have found us—an arrow in the dark?

"Ah..."

"Sorry."

"We must proceed with caution. I can't believe Uhai was the only Black Fang in these woods." I said.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_~Ruins~_

"Lord Aion, we've received word from the Pegasus unit. Targets are approaching from the far side of that mountain to the east." An assassin said to the mage in front of him.

"Hmph... Uhai must have failed after all. I'm not surprised. We're talking about the shallow wisdom of a Sacaen nomad, after all. He possessed a certain rough talent, but no mind for planning. Our units are in place, are they not?"

"Yes."

"Ha ha... Good. Very good. In confined spaces like this, my thunder magic devastates. The battle has already been won... I cannot lose. Combat is an equation. Those with intelligence have a natural advantage. Those imbeciles will not reach the Dragon's Gate. Never. I will bury them here in this forest!"

_~Saige~_

"I can see ruins. Is that the Dragon's Gate?" Eliwood asked—not that I would know.

I glanced over at Ninian, who was looking a little woozy.

"Ninian? Are you all right?"

"...Beware! ...The enemy comes!" she finally said.

"Enemy?" Eliwood looked around—searching the thick trees.

"Eliwood of Pherae! Prepare yourself!" A shaman fazed out of the shadows, already casting a spell.

I didn't cast spells or have any magical ability, yet I could tell from the tome he held what he was using—Eclipse. A devastating spell that if it hit, it would probably cripple Eliwood for the next battle. Or, if he was weaker than usual, even kill him. And judging by how much the possibility of his father's betrayal was affecting him, it'd be the latter.

"Saige!" he cried out as I threw myself in front of him at the last second.

I felt the heavy impact of the spell, but I didn't feel any pain.

"Oof!" I heard Eliwood as I slammed into him. Opening one eye hesitantly, I looked around. There was the shaman—except he was on the ground, dead. He had been…killed by his own spell? Ninian looked away from him, but seemed to be trying to work out what had just happened.

"What was that!" he said as he pushed me back upright, but quickly caught me when I stumbled. My knees were weak, my vision somewhat hazy. I felt…tired. "How did you do that?"

"Do…what?" I _sounded _like I was going to pass out, though it didn't _feel_ quite that bad.

"You just—you just reflected the spell!"

"I…did?" it didn't feel like I did. It felt like it actually had hit me, without the pain. The circlet was searing hot—yet it didn't burn my skin. I shook off my weariness. There was going to be a battle—everyone needed directions. "We'll talk about it later…we won't reach the Dragon's Gate if we stay on the defensive. Hit their commander, and attack the ruins!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_~Saige~_

"Is everyone well?" Eliwood asked, looking over our entire group.

"Yes, somehow." Hector said.

"Eliwood, I'm sorry." Lyn apologized. "I said things I shouldn't have."

"No, I was shouting without thinking. I was wrong. Forgive me." Hector spoke to her.

"No, it was my fault. If I hadn't..."

"It's no one's fault. There's an eerie power here." Eliwood finally interrupted.

"Eerie power?"

"I don't feel it any longer, but... It was meant to make us uneasy. Was it connected to that area where magic was nullified?"

"Now that you mention it, I was so irritable... I couldn't let even the smallest thing go by without complaining. ...What could that have been? The Black Fang couldn't use magic either. So it wasn't an ally of theirs..."

"Who knows?"

"It's gone now, so no sense in worrying about it. We should concentrate on pushing forward."

"Hmm. Let's make haste to the Dragon's Gate."

Hector and Lyn went ahead, but Eliwood hung back.

"Saige, are you alright? I haven't told anyone what happened earlier, and Ninian hasn't either."

I was jolted out of my reverie. "Oh, yeah…I just feel…drained. Like I've run a marathon, yet we both know I've done no such thing."

It had to have been my mother's circlet.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_Following Uhai's last words, Eliwood ventures toward the heart of the forest. He is greeted by an extraordinary sight. A building unlike any he's ever seen. It was clearly not wrought by human hands... It is waiting... waiting for the masters who abandoned it centuries past. Massive beyond belief, these ancient ruins have nothing to do with humankind. Eliwood has arrived. He has found the Dragon's Gate._

_~Saige~_

"...We're here. The Dragon's Gate..." he glanced at Ninian, who was standing beside him.

"What's wrong, Ninian? You're trembling."

"...This place... so frightening." She looked up at the massive building before us. "Something... powerful..."

"It's her power, isn't it?" Lyn said to me.

"Probably…" my brow scrunched.

"Her power? What's that?" Hector asked.

"Ninian has the ability to sense impending danger. Her memory may be gone, but her power remains."

"What is it you sense, Ninian?"

"I... should not have... come here. Something awful will happen if I'm here. Ah!" she was freaking out.

"Ninian! Snap out of it!" Eliwood grasped her by the shoulders.

"This place... No... I...I..." she closed her eyes.

"She's getting worse! Let's get her away from here!"

I jumped as a robed man appeared before us. He had glowing, inhuman, golden eyes…my eyes widened. I'd only read of his kind in myths; books. And yet there was proof of their existence right in front of me.

"You'll not be going anywhere. That little bird has escaped this island cage twice. Now that she's back, she'll not be allowed to fly away again."

"Who are you!"

"We meet at last. I am Ephidel. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"You're Ephidel? I've been looking forward to this." Hector said, his grip on Wolf Beil tightening.

"...Gallantly spoken. Of course, I know who you are. Marquess Ostia's younger brother, Lord Hector. And here we have Caelin's beloved princess, Lady Lyndis." He looked at me. "And finally, your tactician—you have no idea where she's come from, do you?" he laughed.

My lip curled in distaste and anger, "Shut your mouth, morph! You don't know either!"

Ephidel laughed, "You're smarter than I expected…don't be so sure—I know more about you than you think." He turned back to the three Lords, "By the way, the gift I left for you in the forest... Was it to your liking? The corpse of that filthy red-haired traitor?"

"Monster! Stay right there! I'm going to crush the life from you with my bare hands."

"Now I see! She was an Ostian spy, wasn't she? Don't worry, she did not suffer. It only took one blow."

"Die!" Hector rushed forward with Wolf Beil, but Ephidel was gone.

"He vanished!" Eliwood exclaimed, his hand now on the hilt of his rapier.

I stumbled back as Ephidel re-appeared next to me.

"Wha—!" Ninian was cut off as he grabbed her.

"This girl is needed for my master's ceremony."

"Ninian!"

"Lord Eliwood!" she struggled in Ephidel's grip. "Let me go!"

I drew my dagger, forcing it forward…and it sank into empty air.

"Vanished..." Lyn said slowly.

"Blast!" Hector exclaimed.

_~Lord Darin~_

"Lord Ephidel! Is the girl with you?" Darin said to the figure that had suddenly appeared in front of him.

"As you can see..." Ephidel drawled, like he was speaking to a child.

"Oho! The ritual can take place at last!"

"Yes. However, we have an infestation of mice to deal with... They should be scurrying in here momentarily. They must be dealt with before the ritual takes place. May I entrust this task to you?"

"Of course. Who do you think I am? I am Darin, Marquess Laus! Ruler of this world!"

"Very well. I leave it to you."

"Ruler of the world..." Darin left the room, cackling madly.

"Humans... They are so very fragile." Ephidel muttered to himself.

_~Marquess Pherae~_

"Ah... you've done well. Precious Ephidel. Shall we prepare for the ritual?"

"Nergal!" Lord Elbert exclaimed.

"Does it gall you, Marquess Pherae? It's destiny. There could be no other outcome. Despite all of your mischief, the girl was fated to return to me."

"My son... Where is Eliwood?"

"He's still alive. Of course, it's only a matter of time before the Black Fang finishes him."

"...Nergal! Prepare to die!" Marquess Pherae pulled a dagger from underneath his cape and moved to stab Nergal.

"Eh!" the Dark Druid stumbled back.

"Urrgg... grrr...haa...!" Jaffar, the assassin, had stabbed the Marquess in the side before he could do any damage.

"...That was a surprise. When did he undo his bonds? Heh heh... Why do you not heed my warnings, Lord Elbert? You cannot alter destiny. Stop this foolishness." Nergal looked down at Marquess Pherae.

"...Urrgg... grraa..."

"Jaffar, take Marquess Pherae and the girl to the far chamber. I will begin preparations for the ritual."

"Thy will be done." Jaffar's voice was dull and grim.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"He was mad." Lyn said, referring to the fallen Lord Darin.

"Consumed by his own lust... Pitiful fool." Hector said.

"...Lord Darin." Eliwood had his head bowed.

"C'mon, Eliwood! This is no time for sentiment."

"Your father needs you!"

"...Let's go!"

"Wait!" I called after them, running to catch up, but they were already heading inside.

"Father! Father! It's me! Eliwood! I've come to save you!" Eliwood was calling out when I finally came in, "...Father?"

The door shut behind us with a slam, encasing us all in darkness.

"It's dark in here. Can't see a thing..." Hector said, venturing forward a ways into the blackness.

"Eli... Eliwood..." I jumped at the voice.

"Ah!" Eliwood called out into the darkness, "Father! Where are you?"

"Back there! Eliwood! His voice is coming from back there!" Lyn led us forward, through the vague shape of a doorway.

"Ah!" Eliwood exclaimed when he saw the man who was leaning against the wall,

"Father! You... You're all right..."

"Eliwood... Wait! For-Forget me! Take that girl and flee!" that was the first time that I realized that Ninian was also in the room.

"Ninian?" Eliwood asked, but she said nothing.

"That girl... She's the key to the Dragon's Gate. Hurry! Go, before Nergal notices you!"

"Ninian! This way! We must flee!"

My heart beat accelerated as I realized that we could be caught at any moment—and along with it, the circlet began to glow. It made it possible for me to see the wound in the Marquess' side.

"Wha—?" Hector began to say something, but I interrupted.

"Don't ask—I'll tell you guys later. Right now, let's just get out of here—the Marquess is injured and we could be found soon!"

"Ninian, come on!"

In the dim light, I could see her eyes—they were blank, like she couldn't understand us, or just didn't care.

"Something's wrong with her... Yet we've not time to hesitate."

"Eliwood! I've got your father! You take Ninian!" Hector said.

"I understand!"

"Lord Elbert!" Hector said to Marquess Pherae, "I'm going to move you a little. Be strong."

"Hector... you came, too? ...Thank you."

"Don't worry about that. Come, let's leave this place."

"Eliwood! Hector! Saige! Hurry! This way!" Lyn called from the top of the long stairway that led away from the door that we had originally entered from, "Ah!" she moved back down the stairs a few steps as a man appeared.

"... You will not pass here."

"When did you…?"

"You must not fight that man!" Lord Elbert called from behind us.

"What!"

"That man...is dangerous. You cannot defeat him on your own."

"Father, there's no time. This danger must be faced." Eliwood said.

"...Be a good boy, and listen to your father, young master Eliwood." Ephidel stepped out of the shadows.

"Ephidel!"

"Even among the Black Fang, this man is feared for his skill... You are no match for him, not even as a group." He turned to the man, "...You've done well, Jaffar. That is all. Return to Bern and begin your next assignment."

"Hear my word! I have an invitation from my master. In honor of your hard-fought arrival, he's prepared a special show for you." Ephidel drawled as Jaffar faded out.

"Stop it! You cannot release the dragons!" Marquess Pherae exclaimed.

"Father? What's all this about?"

"...You will know shortly. At the expense of your father's life!"

As Ephidel spoke, Marquess Pherae crumpled. "Guwaah! ...Gaa...ghaa...

"Father! What's wrong? Father!"

"Lord Elbert! Hold on!"

"Huh? ...Ninian?"

Ninian moved forward, toward the towering gateway that was at the top of the stairs, "Pow...pow...er... ...power..."

"Gahaaa!" Marquess Pherae could no longer stand—it was as if Ninian herself was drawing his life energy from him.

"Father!"

"Now, Ninian... at last. Open the Dragon's Gate." Nergal had appeared from nowhere.

"...Gate...Open...gate..." it was thought Ninian was mindless—repeating the words of her…master?

"Yes... that's it... This way, dragon..." Nergal seemed to be coaxing something.

"Whoa! What's... What's this rumbling!" Hector almost lost his grip on Lord Elbert.

"Unh! I can barely keep my feet!"

"Nergal... What... What's happening!" Eliwood exclaimed as a crack; a sliver of light appeared in the middle of the gate, where the doors met.

"Here... Come, children of... flame. Come... to me..." Ninian said, and the gate opened wider.

"...It can't be."

"Ah... No... It isn't..."

"Is that... truly... a dragon?"

Indeed, there was a towering form—glowing red as though it had just been resting in coals. Wings sprouted from its back, and a jet of flame poured from its gaping maw.

Nergal cackled. "Yes! Use all your strength! Squeeze every drop from your body! You will call dragons!"

"I will not allow this!" the voice was strangely familiar…a young boy's.

"Who's there?" Ephidel said, as a turquoise-haired youth burst into the room, "...You!"

"Nils!" Lyn exclaimed.

"Ninian! Come to your senses! You must not do what they want!"

"...Ni...Nils..." a flicker of recognition shown in Ninian's eyes.

"Nils? Not now!" Nergal ordered, "...Ephidel! Stop him!"

"Desist, Nils! The power... It runs wild!"

"Ninian!" Nils yelled over the top of the loud rumble, and the roaring of the dragon.

"...Nils?" Ninian snapped out of it, backing away from the massive door, and the flaming red dragon that was trying to pass through it.

"Here! Hurry! The dragon is crumbling. Everyone flee!" we moved back down the steps as quickly as we could, without losing our footing.

There was a loud, drawn out cry from above, and then it was silent, and the rumbling stopped.

"...Something...happened." Hector said.

"Is it... gone?"

Nergal cried out, "No! I've failed! Nils, you whelp! If not for your interference...Come! Both of you!" he was speaking to Ninian and Nils both.

"What? No!"

"Never! We will not follow you!"

"Ninian! Nils!" Eliwood called out as Nergal moved forward to grab them from us.

"Eh!"

"You will...not!" Lord Elbert had moved grabbed my dagger from its sheath, and stabbed Nergal with it.

"What! ...Impossible... Not... by your hand..."

"...I told you. I will...oppose... you always..."

"...Why... won't... you... die?" Nergal forced out. "Nnn..." He disappeared in a swirl of black smoke.

"Father!" Eliwood took him from Hector's arms.

"...Eliwood. Be prepared. He will return..."

"All right, but for now... Let's leave this island... Let's go home."

"No, my son... I'm done here. You, Eliwood... You must finish this."

Eliwood started to take on a pleading tone. "Don't say that! Mother is waiting in Pherae... She's waiting for you, Father!"

"Ah... Eleanora... She will be cross with me. Eliwood... Your mother... I'm sorry... Tell her... I'm... sorry..."

"Father?" Eliwood asked as Marquess Pherae's eyes drifted shut. "No... Please, not now... Not after all we've done to find you again..." I felt my heart wrench as tears began to spill down his cheeks. "Father...Please...Open your eyes..."

Eliwood's drawn out cry echoed throughout the whole building, "Faaatherrrrrrrr!"


	13. Chapter 12: An Old Friend

**A/N: Hey guys, I'm back again! Finals are finally over! Hopefully…I have a report due, but I should be able to update pretty soon. I do apologize for the wait, but it might become this slow, now that I've gone through all of my written chapters. **

**Tom-Ato13: To answer your question about Kent and Saige: yes. Sounds weird, but yes XD**

**Pharkar: ¡Gracias! Estoy tan feliz de que estés disfrutando de la historia! Voy a tratar de seguir escribiendo sin demoras.**

**Thanks to everyone who added this to their story alert & favorites!**

**Also: There's a OC in this chapter…one that's probably going to be pretty big. It will also change to her POV, about…halfway through, so it's especially important to pay attention to the POV's in this specific chapter. I'll try not to do this very often, but I thought it'd be interesting to see Saige from an entirely different POV.**

**Anyway, on with the chapter.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FIRE EMBLEM.**

Chapter 12—An Old Friend

_~Saige~_

"I think we should post a guard, even when it's day…" I said to Kent. The incident from the other night hung on the edge of my mind. "I thought of taking it up with Eliwood, but I don't want to bother him after what just happened to his father…" Eliwood had been devastated after his father's death, so I hadn't suggested much unless he asked. "Even though we may have temporarily crippled them and their leader, we should watch our backs—the Black Fang could still attack us while we're on the isle."

"Hey! Wait, come back!"

I turned—it was Eliwood's voice—just in time to see said Lord run to the trees.

"Eliwood!" I called at his back, but he didn't stop. I looked at Kent, "Make sure that everyone stays here. I'll go after him." It was the first command that I'd ever given. Usually I'd just give suggestions and ideas, but now that Kent knew that I was a noble, I supposed I had some measure of authority.

I barely even waited for the paladin's reply. I started sprinting after Eliwood, my cape billowing out behind me. I wasn't gaining ground for an instant, but then I pushed myself harder—and just managed to pull up beside him.

"Saige?" Eliwood was still running as fast as he could, and I could barely keep up.

We were dashing through the trees—branches were whipping my face, leaves were most certainly getting stuck in my hair, we had to leap over the roots and fallen logs and the like…It was exhausting.

"Yeah." I panted. "This isn't fun, you know."

Just mere feet ahead of us, weaving through the trees, was a girl—her long blue hair fluttering out behind her. There was a sword—a rapier perhaps?—at her hip, and she wore a cape that was similar to mine, except in black.

Eliwood launched himself forward—just as we came within three feet of her. They both went down—and I overshot by a couple feet. I skid to a halt—almost tripping over a fallen branch—curious about this girl who we'd caught.

She was fighting with all her might against Eliwood, but he had her arms pinned down with his knees.

"Let…me…go!" she forced out every word as she struggled to escape him.

"Eliwood, maybe we should just…leave her be?" I said, not wanting him to get hurt, with the way she was kicking and swinging her fists.

The girl's eyes shifted past Lord Eliwood to me. She stopped moving, and it was silent for a moment—other than the sound of hers and Eliwood's panting—before she finally spoke for the first time.

It was only one word, but it struck a chord in my memory. In a questioning voice she asked, "Saige?"

"Do I…" I trailed off, trying to remember. "Do I know you?"

"Saige! Don't you remember me? I was your best friend!" Her bronze eyes bored into my grey ones.

"…Jayna?"

"Yes! You do remember!"

I shook my head, my brow scrunched. "I barely remember more than your name…Eliwood, could you release her please?"

He reluctantly let her go, and she sprung up instantly, hugging me tight.

"Saige! I'm so glad I found you!"

"Um…so if you were trying to find me, why did you run away from Eliwood?"

She pulled back, her arms dropping to her sides. "Well, I was going to try and talk to you when you were alone…" she looked at Eliwood. "But handsome here didn't give me much of a choice! Besides, I figured it'd be better to be safe and run away from him than be sorry and be killed by the Black Fang."

I nodded and said slowly, "I suppose that makes sense…"

"I'll tell you…your story, I guess, if you'll take me back to your camp. Oh, and you've yet to introduce us." She grinned at Eliwood—it seemed she was smitten with the handsome Lord.

"Of course…" I trailed off.

"I am Eliwood, son of the—" he cut himself off. I supposed that he'd be Marquess Pherae now, wouldn't he? But he continued anyway, "…Marquess Pherae. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Jayna…" he bowed. Oh, he was so charming…did he not even realize it?

Jayna looked at me like 'oh my goddess, is he for real?' and said, "So you're a noble? I'm the daughter of—"

"Marquess Badon!" the words burst forth from my mouth—I'd suddenly remembered.

Both Jayna and Eliwood looked at me in surprise.

"Yes, that's right…" Jayna said. "So you do remember?"

I tried to recall more about my supposed "best friend" but nothing came to mind. "I think…I'm only remembering things as I go…that I can only remember something from before when my memory is jogged."

"So if I said something significant enough, you'd remember?" Jayna said.

"I believe so…" I glanced at the sky; it looked like someone had painted it with watercolors. "…We should continue our talk back at camp…the sun is setting."

"You're right."

Jayna gazed at me, looking nervous, "Must we?"

My laugh was short, "Of course, how else are we going to get off the Isle?"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_~Jayna~_

As we walked back to Saige's camp, I couldn't help but notice the subtle differences in my best friend. She seemed have more confidence, yet she dragged her feet as though she was weary from a minute's worth of running. Surely something must've happened before we'd met; otherwise she'd never get that haggard look on her face. There were bags underneath her eyes—which were bloodshot—and she seemed to barely want to speak. It was almost as if our little conversation was all forced.

She would reach up to touch the circlet that her mother had given her repeatedly, tracing small circles around the jade. Yet she seemed almost wary of it; as though she thought it might bite her at any moment.

And then there was her companion—Eliwood. Grief clouded his blue eyes; perhaps he had lost someone dear to him recently? I hadn't been following Saige's group long enough to know if something had happened. He also seemed worn out, although it did nothing to diminish his good looks.

No one spoke as we walked—Eliwood and Saige walked side by side, while I was trailing slightly behind them.

Finally I couldn't stand the silence any longer. "So why did you come to Dread Isle?"

Saige glanced back at me with a clear look of reproach—one that I'd come to recognize over our childhood years. Apparently this was a touchy subject, as she didn't reply. She merely looked to Eliwood with concern showing in her stormy grey eyes.

"We came because we were looking for my father." Eliwood didn't look back at me as he spoke.

We walked for a moment in silence, before my curiosity got the best of me.

"And did you find him?"

Another look from Saige—I got the feeling that I should've left it at that—but apparently curiosity was going to kill the cat. "We did." Saige's voice was curt, leaving a frosty silence in its wake.

"He's…he's dead." My head snapped up in shock when Eliwood said this. So I had been right—he'd lost someone recently—his father. Eliwood's face was cast in shadow, sorrow clearly showing through what had been…all a façade.

I was still struggling for words to say when someone came crashing through the trees somewhere to the right of us. "Eliwood! Saige!" an unfamiliar voice carried through the forest, disturbing wildlife.

"It's Hector." Saige said, before beckoning me as she started in the direction of the voice. "We should go." Eliwood followed quickly, leaving me standing there just as the words came to me.

"I—I'm sorry." I whispered.

**A/N: If Marquess Badon actually plays a role in the game—I know I could've overlooked something—could someone let me know, so I could change it? I realized this chapter's a bit short, especially compared to the last one, but I haven't had much free time lately…more of Jayna's story should be revealed in the next chap.**


	14. Chapter 13: The Davros

**A/N: Some of the very beginning of this chapter is recap, just go ahead and skip that massive chunk of words if you want to. **

**To Tom-Ato13, Yes, Saige is a noble, but it was really only heavily implied in chapter 8.**

Chapter 13—The Davros

_~Saige~_

"Why don't you start with how you got here?" I prompted Jayna, who seemed to be having problems with how to explain her story. She was nervous—this I could remember, at least—of speaking in front of large numbers of people, and I supposed having every eye in our camp upon her wasn't helping her story-telling skills much at all.

"Right." She was looking at her hands, the fire, the sea, the sky; anywhere other than our group. "Well, I…I was a stowaway upon the Davros. We've been trying to find Saige for years now, after we split up."

"We?" Eliwood asked.

"Yes…there were three of us—Saige, me, and her other best friend, Liliana. We had heard of a brilliant tactician who had instructed the Marquess Caelin's granddaughter, Lyn—of course, we knew that this fit Saige. We tried to contact this tactician, only to run into another dead end." Jayna spoke quickly. "She had vanished after Lyn had been returned to her grandfather and Lundgren had been defeated. So now, we finally tracked her down. We had just caught up with you back in the port. However, while Liliana was securing us a place to stay at a nearby inn, I was gathering information from the sailors. They said that you had gotten pirates—Captain Fargus—to agree to take you to the Dread Isle, and that you were leaving that morning. I knew I didn't have very long to act, so I quickly hid myself aboard the Davros."

"And Liliana? What happened to her?" I asked.

"I didn't have time to inform her of what was happening. She should still be back in the portside inn, waiting. Anyway," she returned to her story. "after you had left the ship, the pirates found me and took me to Captain Fargus. Luckily I was able to explain the situation to him before he tossed me overboard. Even though he was still suspicious of me, I managed to convince him to lend me a small boat of my own to follow you here."

I nodded, absorbing all of this information. It didn't seem that there were holes or discrepancies in her story.

"What about you? What happened to you since we parted?" Jayna asked me.

"Well, I'm sure you already know of Lyn's story. But just recently I was traveling again, and stopped to stay the night in a small village. It was there that I met Eliwood again when bandits attacked. With him were Marcus and Lowen. Rebecca—the daughter of the village's Magistrate—volunteered to help us. And then in the middle of the battle, we met up with Bartre and Dorcas again. Afterwards, I agreed to travel with Eliwood while he searched…for his father." I paused, looking at Eliwood. I didn't like mentioning his father when the loss was so recent. "On the way to visit Lord Helman, we were ambushed by mercenaries hired to kill Eliwood, which is where Hector came in with Oswin, Serra, and Matthew. We ended up chasing Marques Laus out of his own land and into Caelin—along the way finding Priscilla, Erk, Guy, and allowing Merlinus to join us. We joined forces with Lyn in Caelin, and with the help of Kent, Sain, Wil, and Florina, we managed to take back Castle Caelin. In the battle, we freed Lucius and Raven, who joined us in the fight. We found Leila—one of Ostia's spies—who told us that the Black Fang was here. We ended up going to Captain Fargus for our passage, since none of the ordinary sailors would take us. He originally was going to make us pay a very steep price for his services—100, 000 gold, actually—but he eventually decided to allow us free passage if we could make it past all of his crew. And from there…well, you should know the rest."

"I see…" Jayna said, looking deep in thought.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOOOoOoOOoOoO

_~Saige~_

"Lady Saige, get up." I was shaken.

I grunted, rolling over so that I was facing away from the familiar voice. "Just five more minutes, Kent."

"We're leaving in five minutes." He came back with.

I groaned, before forcing myself to sit up quickly. "Ow!" my hand flew up to my right temple as it erupted in pain. We had bumped heads when I had sat up so suddenly, because he had been leaning over me. "You have a hard head!"

"I could say the same for you, milady." Kent said as he rubbed his own forehead.

"Ow…that hurt." The pain slowly began to dull into a steady throb.

"At least you're awake. I'd suggest you get your things ready, because the pirates will be here soon."

I gave a reproachful look at his back as he left, the pain still not gone.

I jumped at a whistling sound, and my head snapped up to see one of the flares that Captain Fargus had given us explode in a burst of blue light. Ugh! Kent! We hadn't even lit the signal flares yet! Captain Fargus and the pirates wouldn't be here for another hour!

I debated between giving Kent a piece of my mind and going back to sleep, but I concluded that neither would be wise. Kent just wanted to make sure that I was ready on time, I was sure, and the pain in my temple still hadn't gone away, so sleep wasn't a possibility.

I dragged myself out of my bedroll, replaced my mother's circlet upon my brow, and began to get ready. I buckled my belt around my waist, the familiar weight of my dagger bringing me comfort. I clasped my cloak around my shoulders quickly and hugged it around myself, hoping to retain some of the warmth that still remained from my blankets.

Packing up my bedroll, I set it on my bag, before making my way over to Eliwood, who was sitting alone off to the side away from everyone else. Most everyone else was gathered around the dying fire.

"How are you?" I asked the young Lord quietly.

"Oh…Saige…" he glanced up at me, before his gaze returned to the ground. "I'm fine."

I sat down beside him—from the look on his face, he sure didn't look fine. The sadness that showed in his eyes made my heart wrench. Such a compassionate and kind man shouldn't look like that.

"Are you sure? You don't look alright."

"Yeah..." he still wouldn't meet my eyes.

"Eliwood." I grasped his arm. "Look at me."

Almost reluctantly, he turned those sad blue eyes on me.

"I don't remember…what it's like to lose a parent. Just know…that I'm here for you…I mean, if you even want my support…" I stopped there, unsure on what else to say. I never had been one for meaningful speeches.

A short pause, then, "Thanks, Saige, but…could you…leave me alone for a while?"

I sighed, nodding. Of course he'd want to be left alone—it was foolish of me to think otherwise. I stood up—casting a glance at the rest of the group, who were still huddled around the fire—before heading out to the edge of the beach, where the waves met the shore.

Despite the fact that the sand was cold and wet, I sat down, pulled my leather boots off, and let the waves wash over my feet. The after the water first touched my feet, I moved back a bit—since the water was freezing, and had cooled me off quickly. I was definitely wide awake now.

The fog had dissipated, for the most part, and I could see all the way out to the Davros, where Captain Fargus' men were surely working to get the boats out to us as quickly as possible. The ship was silhouetted by the rising sun, which was almost directly behind it.

I rubbed my sore eyes—I had gone to sleep late last night, and Kent had woken me up early—as I thought about our whole situation. It was depressing, nerve-racking, and most of all, terrifying. I had first realized what a serious business being the tactician was back when we had that very close call with Florina—she had almost been killed, thanks to my carelessness. Since then I'd had other near-deaths—though now, with Eliwood's father…

I shook my head. That wasn't necessarily my fault…but what if I had come up with a better strategy to get to him faster? Maybe he wouldn't have died...and maybe it wouldn't have made a difference—we'd never know now.

I could send someone to their death with one wrong move. That someone could be Lyn, Hector, Rebecca, Sain, Wil, Eliwood…or Kent.

Which brought up another depressing topic. Even though I'd kissed him back on the Davros, he still had feelings for Lyn—and that wasn't likely to change anytime soon. Hells, she might even end up feeling the same way about him. And where'd that leave me? There was still that memory to think about…had I met Kent when I was younger? The resemblance was uncanny, and the boy's father had referred to him as Kent…I knew I'd still travel after all of this was over, there was no doubt about that—that is, if I survived, and we succeeded. Yet…

I sighed, shaking these thoughts out of my head. It wouldn't do to dwell on the inevitable.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_ "Sorry!" the voice was distinctly male._

_ "Ugh." I sat back up, rubbing the back of my head. What the heck just happened? It seemed that I had slammed into someone on accident. "Wha…what was that?" I shook my head, trying to clear it. _

_ A hand was thrust into my line of vision, and I took it, reluctantly. I wasn't quite sure I was ready to stand after that...I could have a concussion. _

_ They must have understood this, too, because they took my other hand as well and slowly raised me to my feet again. I was surprised at who I had run into—despite the fact that it felt like I had run into a brick wall, it was a young boy, about my age. His hair was a bright color of orange—and his eyes were amber._

_ Regardless of his gentle treatment, my head still spun, and nausea hit my stomach. _

_ The boy's eyes widened in horror as he saw my face, and my mother's circlet. _

"_You're…you're a noble? I apologize—I should've been watching where I was going." From the look in his eyes, it was as though he was afraid I was going to call my guards to throw him in jail or something._

_ "It's fine…I don't have guards…" my voice sounded sluggish._

_ "What?" _

"_Have we met before…? You seem familiar…"_

"_Milady, I think you might have a concussion." He slipped an arm around my waist. "Let me take you to a priest."_

"_Hmn. That would be for the best…who are you, anyways?"_

"_My name is Kent—I'm training to become a knight of Caelin."_

"_And I'm Saige…I'm a noble, but both of my parents are…dead."_

"_I'm sorry…"_

I shivered—the cold had snapped me out of that memory. I tried focusing on it again, but it slipped away from me like sand through my fingers. So I had met Kent when I was younger…but he didn't remember me…?

We'd been sailing on the Davros for almost two weeks now—and there were no indications of a storm like the one we'd had on the way to Valor, much to my relief, though I still couldn't help the fear that remained.

"So…Saige." I jumped at the voice.

"Yes, Sain?" I turned, leaving my back to the railing. "I'm surprised you aren't still harassing Kent."

"Why is it that our conversations always come back to Kent?" the green knight leaned closer, that smirk on his face again. "Besides, there's not much I can do on a ship."

I sighed, "There's plenty you could do to him…I mean—" I cut off as the smirk grew into a smile.

"No, no, go on. Tell me what you would like to do to him."

My brow furrowed in anger, and I swung my hand up and slapped him in the face for a second time. "How dare you?"

"Wha—"

"Augh!" I stormed off, leaving him there.

"W-Wait, Saige! I didn't mean it!"

"Yeah, bull!" I called back over my shoulder.

I paused outside of the door that led into all of our adjoined bedrooms. Had I seriously just said that? I really needed to stop even listening to the pirates' conversations—otherwise I'd end up talking like one of them.

When I pushed my door open, I saw something that I definitely hadn't been expecting.

"Jayna? Sweet Elimine! What are you doing?"

The said swordswoman was sitting on the floor, going through my pack.

"I—well, I'm doing what any good friend does! I'm going through your things, of course!"

I slapped a hand up to my face. "You…make no sense whatsoever."

"You can tell an awful lot about a person from what they have in their bags…besides; I haven't seen you in years! I figured I'd…I don't know, I guess I just thought this might bring us closer again. You seem so much more comfortable with everyone else, and…"

"Ugh." I closed the door behind me, trudged over to my bed, and flopped on top of it. "Whatever."

"Is something wrong, Saige? You've seemed a little…off."

I opened one eye, gazing at her lazily, before rolling onto my back. "Yeah…I suppose so."

"Having trouble with the men?"

My eyebrows just about shot into my hairline. "How'd you know?"

"Best friend's intuition. So what's the problem?"

"Well…you know Kent, right?"

"The paladin? The one who's so uptight?"

"Yeah…that's the one."

A pause, then, "Am I supposed to know what's wrong just from that?"

"I thought you had 'best friend's intuition'!"

I could hear her sigh, "I did, but I'm not that good. Care to clarify?"'

"He has feelings for Lyn…still."

"Still? Sounds like you did something that you thought might change that…?"

"I suppose I might've thought that at one time…" I interlocked my hands behind my head. "Yeah, I was being foolish and went and kissed him."

There was a little squeal from Jayna—and she was at the side of the bed, looking up at me, in an instant. "You did? What was it like?"

"Um…I don't know?"

"And he still has feelings for this…Lyn?"

"Yes, Lady Lyndis. We're good friends, so it's impossible for me to even consider hating her."

"Hmm…and is there anyone else?"

"I guess…maybe Eliwood?" Her face fell at this, so I continued on. "Well, I mean, since you're so smitten with him…"

"No, if you…I'll be forfeit in any relationship if you do have…feelings for him."

I was silent for a moment as this information sunk in. "You…you're a good friend, Jayna."

She gave a sad smile at this, and said, "So does that mean you'll…"

"…Only if you want me to…" I said slowly.

She sighed. "Oh, well. He was good prey, but I'm sure I can find someone else."

My mouth curved up a little. "Prey?"

"Oh, you know!" she waved her arms around. "You know what I mean!"

"Well, actually, I don't."

"Grr…you're so infuriating when you want to be, Saige!"

"Yes, that is a certain quality that I possess."

"Raughhhhhhhhhhh!" She finally snapped and leapt at me.

Luckily, my reflexes had been honed by the battles we'd fought so far. I quickly used my pillow to ward her off, but I had miscalculated, at it hit her square in the face.

I froze and she stopped in her tracks, a mere foot away from the bed. "You…did not just do that."

"I did." That smirk slipped back onto my face as I braced myself.

However, I was simply a tactician—I had very little combat experience—whereas Jayna had been practicing fencing for years. When she moved, it was lightning fast, ripping the pillow out of my grip and sending it in an arc towards my face in a few short seconds.

"Nooo—!" I cried, but my voice was abruptly cut off as the pillow smacked me in the face. I was trying to kick her off the bed, but I just seemed to be hitting air. "St-op it!" She was hitting me repeatedly, while I tried to stifle my laughter.

Finally, she moved back. "You're never going to do that again, are you?"

I sat up, propping myself on my arms. "Well…it depends on the circumstances."

Her eyes narrowed. "Oh?"

"It depends on whether or not…I've got a pillow myself!" I had grabbed the other pillow while we'd been talking, and now swung it up and around to hit her in the side of the head.

"Hey!" She said as I leaped off the bed and backed to the other side of the room.

"You'll never get your revenge now!" I cackled, before running through the door into the other rooms as she gave chase.

"Come back here!"

"Catch me if you can!"

I heard Hector say, presumably to Eliwood, "Are those…pillows?"

**A/N: Did anyone see the bit of a déjà vu moment there in the last line? And yes…the pillow fight was definitely not planned, but I think I like how it turned out.**


	15. Chapter 14: A New Resolve

**A/N: Ugh….that was a pathetically long delay. I could say that it was that Spanish report that was due like…a week ago, but that'd be a lie…it was mostly that between playing Fire Emblem 4, 6, 11, and Skyrim, that I didn't write much…so sorry for the horribly long delay…but I finally managed to churn this out…**

**To Pharkar: ¿Qué ideas? Yo no tengo buenas ideas ... XD**

**To Tom-Ato13: How could I not have thought of that before? It's brilliant! Thanks for the idea; they really do seem to go well together now that I think about it…**

**To MilleniaMaster: I'm really glad you enjoyed that…like I believe I said before, I enjoy writing those parts too XD**

**And to you all, thank you for the reviews, the favorites, the story alerts…and even to those who have only read this…thanks for sticking around this far…**

Chapter 14—New Resolve

_~Saige~_

"Woah!" I nearly fell as I stepped down onto the solid, dry land.

Captain Fargus guffawed as he came up beside me. "Watch yerself there, lass! Yeh still 'ave sea legs!"

"Hmph." I remembered something somewhat like this when we had first arrived at Valor.

"Saige! We have to go see Liliana!" Jayna had quickly jumped down from the plank connecting the ship to the dock, grabbed my hand, and started dragging me to the nearby inn. She didn't seem to be unsteady on her feet at all—I wondered if she'd been on very many sea journeys.

"Hold on! I have to let the others know where I'm going!"

I turned back to our group, but Captain Fargus intervened, "Ah'll let 'em know."

"Thanks Captain!"

"Come on, Saige! She's been waiting for three whole fortnights now!"

As she pulled me closer to the entrance, I caught a glimpse of a giant, blue, fanged head. It was peaking around the side of the building—the sight unnerved me, as wyverns always did. They were just so big and…draconic-looking. It was almost—to me—like having a baby dragon within a couple feet from me.

Jayna paused, noticing that I had seen the wyvern. "Oh, Saige. There's no need to be afraid, it's just Marina."

"And…why is this information supposed to be comforting?"

She laughed. "Because she's Liliana's wyvern! You've—well, you were around Marina for years!"

"I can't remember any of that…" I said slowly. "It isn't any comfort to me at all."

Jayna seemed sad about this, "Oh…that's right." Her face brightened a bit, "Maybe when you meet Liliana you'll remember something!"

"Yeah…maybe." I muttered as she led me into the inn.

A wall of sound hit me when I entered the room. Men were seated around tables, betting on card games, others were drinking at the bar, and some, they were doing both. There was a roaring fireplace on the far side of the room, and the stairway leading up to the second floor was to the right of the bar.

My eyes scanned all of the tables for a familiar face—or at least a woman who wasn't a wench—but saw no one.

It seemed that Jayna came to this conclusion as well, because her grip tightened on my wrist, and she said loudly in my ear, "She is either out right now, or she's upstairs."

"My bet is on upstairs!" I almost had to yell to be heard over the din.

"Follow me!"

We somehow managed to make it to the other side of the room without being groped—sheer luck, in my opinion—and took the steps two at a time. When we finally reached the upstairs hallway, I had a sudden realization.

"How are we going to know which room's hers?"

Jayna was silent for a moment, before admitting reluctantly, "I don't know, really."

"Hmph…maybe we should see if anyone knows…" I reached to knock on the nearest door, but no one answered.

"Everyone's probably downstairs…"

"Then we'll just knock on every door until someone answers, or we find her."

"Better start then."

I rapped on the first door to my right, and Jayna went down to the other end of the hall.

When nobody answered the next five, I began to get a little frustrated. Just as I reached to the sixth door, I stopped dead at the sounds that were coming from inside. I felt heat rush to my cheeks—I hadn't considered that maybe not all of the men were enjoying just the sight of the wenches.

I figured it was safe to assume that that room didn't belong to Liliana.

"Hello. What're you doing up here?" I turned to see that Jayna had had more luck than me. She glanced towards me, looking panicked. A young man had answered the door that she'd knocked on.

"Erm…well, we…"

I stepped forward. "We're looking for a woman named 'Liliana.'"

He leaned on the doorframe. "What's she look like?"

I blinked, looking at Jayna—I couldn't remember.

"Uhm…well, she's got short, curly, purple hair…"

"Oh, the Wyvern Rider…Seven doors down on the left."

"Uh…thank you." Jayna spoke at the same time as me.

"My thanks."

We made our way over as he closed his door.

I raised my hand to knock, but Jayna stopped me. "Try the knob first—it's probably not locked, knowing Liliana."

Suddenly feeling nervous, I lowered my hand. "You go ahead…"

She gave me a weird look before opening the unlocked door with a sharp twist of her wrist. Slipping past me into the room, I could hear her say uncertainly as she ventured further in, "Liliana?"

There was no response.

"She could just be out—" but I was cut off.

"Saige!" her voice was barely above a whisper, and a small smile was forming on her face. She lifted one finger up to her lips in a gesture of silence, before beckoning me closer with her other hand. She was looking at something that was just around the corner of the room, where I couldn't see. As I approached, she pointed to the small figure at the desk. "She's out…we could probably talk normally and she wouldn't wake up."

Slumped forward onto the desk was Liliana. I could tell instinctively that it was her, even though I couldn't remember virtually anything. Her short, curly purple hair looked as though a small rodent had taken up residence there; though perhaps that could've been a side-effect of flying on her wyvern, then passing out when she returned without tending to it at all.

I glanced around, noticing the two beds on the opposite wall. "I'm assuming that she was planning for you to stay with her here?"

"Probably."

There were only two beds…meaning I'd most likely end up rooming with another of our group. I sighed, putting a hand up to rest over my eyes. This could be very interesting…but maybe I'd be lucky and end up with Lyn…

"What's wrong?"

Jayna was looking at me, concerned.

I waved my hand. "Oh, it's nothing too bad. I'm just worried about who I'm going to end up with."

"What do you mean?" her brow furrowed, and I realized I hadn't said it with any context.

"Heh, sorry, I meant I wasn't sure who I'd end up rooming with. Hopefully it'll be Lyn…"

"I thought Lyn was the one that Kent…?"

"Yeah. She is, but that doesn't mean we aren't still friends. She saved my life, you know?"

"No, actually. You never told me that…"

"Hmph…yeah, she was the one who took me in and gave me food and water after I passed out on the plains of Sacae."

"So she's very kind…I mean, even though she didn't know who you were or where you were from, she still took you in…"

"Very. She's unique for a noble…it seems that she always says what she means and means what she says. None of the pointless word-twisting for personal gain. I suppose…it isn't much of a surprise that a man like Kent would fall for her…" Sighing, I unbuckled my belt and pouches, heading over to the bed that obviously hadn't been slept in. "Do you mind if I leave my things here until I get a room?"

"No, go ahead."

I dropped my things onto her bed, before resting my dagger on top, and turning back to her. "I'm sure that they're still unloading our supplies and belongings from the _Davros_…think we should go help?"

Jayna plopped down onto her bed, and moved my things over just enough so that she could lay flat. "Ugh…no, not really…"

"Were you always this lazy?"

"I'm not lazy!"

"Yes you are. You won't even get up to go help unload your own things?"

"Hmph. I didn't bring much with me when I stowed away on the _Davros_." She indicated with her hand the bags that were next to her bed. "These are my belongings, and besides, I don't really think that the men need much help anyways."

"Still, it'd be nice to at least help out a little." When she didn't reply, I moved quickly to the door. "In any case, I'm going."

There was a pause, before she leapt up, "Wait, Saige, I'll go with you."

"Changed your mind?"

"Not to actually help, but the men downstairs seem less than respectable, so…"

"Hm. Alright."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"So who's that one?"

I shook my head, holding back a laugh. After being brushed off by the men multiple times, being told to let them handle it, I finally just stood back. However, once I had come to the realization that they weren't going to let me help, Jayna had started to ask me the names of the men.

"Eh…that's Hector. Lord Hector, I should say. He's the little brother of Ostia's Marquess." I said as I popped another cranberry into my mouth. They were a rare treat that Captain Fargus had given me.

"Oooh, Ostia, aye? Hmm. Sounds like he'd be interesting…"

Each of her little comments made me laugh. "Ha…yeah, I'm sure. He's pretty blunt sometimes…well, pretty much all the time. He's a lot different from what you'd expect."

But she'd already turned her attention elsewhere. "And who's that?"

She was pointing to where Sain and Kent were still unloading more of our remaining supplies.

"I'm assuming that you're not talking about Kent. That's Sain; also known as the most annoying man on Elibe—"

"He's adorable!"

I just about choked on my cranberry. "_What—?_" Then an idea hit me, "Why don't you tell him that?" I waved him over, "Sain!"

"What? _Saige!_" she hissed. "What are you doing?" she pulled my arm down, but it was too late. He had already given his two boxes to Kent—who was now struggling under the weight of four boxes—and was coming over.

"Just introducing you. Jayna, this is Sain…Sain, this is Jayna."

I rolled my eyes when he took her hand and brought it up to his lips. "Jayna…" he said, testing it out. "Your name is like music to my ears. Your beauty shines brightly to me as a star in a moonless night."

I was sure that he also noticed the small smile that was forming on her face. "Right. I'm going to leave you two to it." I winked at Jayna as I walked away, who giggled. They went so well together, but I wasn't sure about Jayna's reaction once she realized that Sain talked that way to every woman he met.

"Need some help with that?" I said, looking up at Kent.

"It's fine, Saige. I can handle it." He said, though his voice sounded strangled.

I sighed, reaching up and trying to take a box off the top. I just barely could reach. "At least let me help, since Sain pretty much bailed on you. Which, is partially my fault, but I didn't think about the fact that he'd do that."

"Saige…"

I glanced at him, "Yes?"

"About what happened the other night…"

"It's nothing. Let's just not talk about it, alright?"

He nodded, before asking, "Where are we staying?"

"This way." I stepped forward to lead the way to the inn.

**A/N: I realize that did virtually nothing to advance the central plot…just as the last few have been like that…however, if all goes as planned, I'll actually get to the point in the next chapter…**


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